Taiwan's leadership is telling people not to count on outside help to protect the island's democracy, a sober message as Washington and Beijing prepare to talk.

• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said more countries care about Taiwan, but the island has to do the work of defending its own democracy.
• The US and China are competing hard on diplomacy, military power, technology, AI, and supply chains, and a Trump-Xi meeting touches all of it.
• Foreign ministers in the US, Japan, and South Korea have backed keeping things as they are in the Taiwan Strait and oppose using force or pressure to change it.
• Taiwan's leverage is economic: it remains a critical link in global supply chains and in the world's tech industry.

Outlook: Taiwan will keep courting international statements of support while pushing a self-reliance message at home ahead of local elections.