Behind the Taiwan issue

[Randy W]

My guess is that TAIWAN straightened him out on the issue

 

Xinhua had this to say on Twitter . . .

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[danb]

Just read about Xi JinPing and Trump's phone call on MSN:

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-changes-tack-backs-one-china-policy-in-call-with-xi/ar-AAmN8qJ?li=BBnbcA1

 

A quote from that article is:

 

"PAPER TIGER"

Lawyer James Zimmerman, the former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said Trump should have never raised the "one China" policy in the first place.

"There is certainly a way of negotiating with the Chinese, but threats concerning fundamental, core interests are counterproductive from the get-go," he said in an email.

"The end result is that Trump just confirmed to the world that he is a paper tiger, a 'zhilaohu' - someone that seems threatening but is wholly ineffectual and unable to stomach a challenge." What do you think has Trump shown himself as a " paper tiger, a 'zhilaohu? " I am not sure. I would like to see what Trump says about the whole thing. As far as I can tell so far all the info about what was said during the phone call is from the China sources. Danb

Oophs , in that MSN article there was a statement about that phone call. " A White House statement said Trump and Chinese President Xi had a lengthy phone conversation on Thursday night, Washington time.

"President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'one China' policy," the statement said."

Edited February 10, 2017 by danb (see edit history)

[Greg.D.]

I was reading in the WaPo that the agenda of the conversation had been in the works for about a week, expressions, statements and agreements did not happen spontaneously - which is probably a good thing. They were agreed upon in advance.

 

I am not going to get on anyone's case; it was unfortunate that it happened this way. China certainly got what it wanted out of this event and I'm big enough to say that the region and the world being saved from a disastrous war is good enough for me.

 

American Chamber of Commerce guy was kind of harsh. They and career diplomats must have been kind of browned-off to see that amateurs had taken over for a while there.

[Randy W]

Taiwan prepares! In the Shanghaiist . . .

 

Taiwan says its missiles can hit the mainland for first time as defense ministry warns of invasion risk

 

While delivering a four-yearly report to parliament on Thursday, Taiwan's defense minister Feng Shih-kuan was asked whether Taiwan was capable of launching missiles at mainland China.

"Yes," Feng replied.

"It is the first time the ministry has confirmed this," lawmaker Wang Ting-yu told the AFP, adding that Taiwanese missiles may be able to travel over 1,500 kilometers.

In the past, Taiwan has acknowledged that it produces cruise missiles, but had never gave any details about their capabilities.

The defense ministry appears to have finally decided to come clean due to continued military spending increases from Beijing which announced plans earlier this month to up defense spending by 7% to $151 billion this year -- though independent estimates actually put the number much higher. In his report, Feng warned that the risk of invasion has also increased, adding that the mainland has more than 1,500 missiles pointed at Taiwan.

 

. . .

 

"Should the enemy insist on invading, we will weaken their capabilities by striking enemy troops at their home bases, fighting them at sea, crushing them as they approach the coastlines and wiping them out on the beaches," the report said.

 

[Randy W]

. . . and now that Trump and Xi are such good friends . . . from the Reuters interview via the Shanghaiist

 

Trump says that before talking with Tsai Ing-wen again he would have to speak with Xi first

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Tsai said that she would not rule out speaking directly with Trump again, as she had last December in a phone call that enraged China. But in his own interview with Reuters,

 

" . . . So I wouldn’t want to be causing difficulty right now for him. I think he’s doing an amazing job as a leader and I wouldn’t want to do anything that comes in the way of that. So I would certainly want to speak to him first."

 

[tsap seui]

It is great to see our country giving China, even an ounce, of respect. God knows the possibilities.

[Randy W]

an interesting Cold War story from the BBC

 

The man who helped prevent a nuclear crisis

 

It might seem a perplexing turn of events given the close relationship the US has with Taiwan, but Washington had found out that Taiwan's government had secretly ordered scientists to develop nuclear weapons.

Taiwan's enemy, the Communist government of China, had been building up its nuclear arsenal since the 1960s, and the Taiwanese were terrified this would be unleashed on the island.

 

. . .

 

They were worried about a nuclearisation of the Taiwan Strait and bent on stopping Taiwan's nuclear ambition in its tracks and preventing a regional arms race.

So they secretly enlisted Mr Chang to halt Taiwan's programme.

When Mr Chang was recruited by the CIA in the early 1980s, he was the deputy director at Taiwan's Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, which was responsible for the nuclear weapons programme.

. . .

The next task was getting him and his family out.

Defection

At that time, military officials could not leave Taiwan without permission.

So, Mr Chang first ensured his wife and three young children's safety by sending them to Japan for a holiday.

His wife, Betty, says she had no clue about her husband's double life. They had only talked about the possibility of him accepting a job in the US.

"He told me this was a trial to test how easy I could get out from Taiwan and to see how much luggage I could pack," she says.

Mrs Chang left on 8 January 1988 with their children, excited to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

The very next day, Mr Chang took a flight to the US using a fake passport provided by the CIA. All he had with him was some cash and a few personal possessions.

. . .

Meanwhile in Tokyo, Betty Chang was approached by a woman who handed her a letter from Mr Chang. That was the moment she discovered her husband was a CIA spy and had defected.

"It said 'You will never go back to Taiwan and from Japan you will go to USA'... that was a surprise for me.

 

. . .

 

The Changs were later put in a safe house in Virginia, due to fears he would be assassinated by Taiwanese agents or patriotic extremists.

Within a month, the US succeeded in pressuring Taiwan to end the programme, using the intelligence it had collected and Mr Chang's testimony.

Taiwan was believed to be just one or two years from completing a nuclear bomb.

 

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP - perhaps China could sell arms to Texas

 

US arms sales to Taiwan only a matter of time, but bound to leave Taipei uneasy

Ankit Panda says that the announcement of the US$1.4 billion package may raise Taipei suspicions over whether it is a genuine show of support or a ploy aimed at forcing more cooperation from Beijing over North Korea

 

 

The approval is the first of its kind for Taiwan since US President Donald Trump was inaugurated. The last package to be approved for Taiwan was in December 2015.

More importantly, however, this is the first US arms package to receive clearance for Taiwan since Tsai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan’s president in May 2016.

Since Tsai’s inauguration, ties have cooled across the Taiwan Strait, amid great scepticism in Beijing about the ultimate intentions of Tsai’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party.

 

. . .

 

But, given Trump’s previous insinuations about the United States’ one-China policy and the possibility of Taiwan turning into a bargaining chip for the United States to gain leverage over China, there are risks to Taipei too.

The Trump administration has been obsessed with seeking China’s help in reining in North Korea’s parallel development of more advanced ballistic missiles and more powerful and compact nuclear devices.

. . .

Chinese officials have already reacted angrily to the arms sale announcement. Cui Tiankai, China’s envoy to the United States, reportedly noted that the sale “runs counter to the spirit of the Mar-a-Lago summit” – the amicable first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi in April this year.

For now, as the announcement becomes official, Taipei will sit uneasy – perhaps unsure if this arms package is a bona fide show of resolute support for Taiwan’s defence self-sufficiency in line with the Taiwan Relations Act and the so-called Six Assurances, or simply a card to be played to coerce Xi’s compliance on North Korea.

 

[amberjack1234]

That was the first thing that came to my mind when the wife told me about this deal last night.

[amberjack1234]

Or perhaps California as they are sleeping with the Chinese these days.

[Randy W]

I'm having trouble finding any sort of credibility to this article, but here it is . . .

 

Increased military drills suggest mainland China is preparing to strike against Taiwan, experts say

PLA releases footage of bomber, fighter jets flying close to self-ruled island, as Taipei says it spotted mainland ‘transport’ planes overhead

 

“The recent ‘island encirclement’ patrols are very unusual,” Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong said. “The air force is conducting very practical and well-planned patrols near Taiwan to collect up-to-date military intelligence.”

While naval and air patrols in the region are nothing new, in the past they were mostly symbolic, Wang said.

“But now, the mainland is deploying old and new generations of surveillance planes, fighter jets and other aircraft … indicating the PLA is stepping up its preparations for war against Taiwan.”

 

 

[amberjack1234]

Randy, the wife was telling me last night, that from what she got from her Chinese sources, they are saying that they are doing the exercise's in order to push South Korea into getting the US to remove those Patriots missiles. Along with closing everything (even grocery stores) in South Korea. They are a real butt for China and Russia. No mention of Taiwan from her.

 

How truthful that is I can not say and neither can she. You know how the news is in China. Of course with it all in Chinese I can not provide a link to it.

[Randy W]

Randy, the wife was telling me last night, that from what she got from her Chinese sources, they are saying that they are doing the exercise's in order to push South Korea into getting the US to remove those Patriots missiles. Along with closing everything (even grocery stores) in South Korea. They are a real butt for China and Russia. No mention of Taiwan from her.

 

How truthful that is I can not say and neither can she. You know how the news is in China. Of course with it all in Chinese I can not provide a link to it.

 

 

Now that makes more sense. Sad for China, if so, but I suppose it's better than starting a war with Taiwan, or trying to test Trump.

[chilton747]

Ain't no such thing gonna happen

[Randy W]

in the Global Times

 

 

China to respond 'Taiwan Travel Act' with military pressure: experts

 

China to respond with diplomatic, military pressure: experts

 

 

On Sunday the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated that the island will suffer serious consequences if it attempts to act on the US bill.

China said on Saturday that the country "firmly opposes the US side signing the 'Taiwan Travel Act,'" while urging "the US side to correct its mistake, stop pursuing any official ties with Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any substantive way, and handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously so as to avoid causing severe damage to China-US relations and cross-Straits peace and stability," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

China's Anti-Secession Law provides a series of conditions wherein the Taiwan question is solved through non-peaceful means.

If the US were to send any senior officials to Taiwan or make any moves to elevate its relations with the island of Taiwan, China would have no choice but to respond with counter moves that will deeply impact the US, Liu Weidong, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Time on Sunday.

He believes Beijing will likely stop sending high-ranking officials to Washington and refuse any official exchanges with Washington for a period of time.

If any "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces perceive the US bill as a 'pro-independence' signal, the Chinese army will resume its military probes circling the island and send more military vessels and airplanes to patrol the Straits, Liu said.

US President Donald Trump signed the "Taiwan Travel Act" on Friday, but it would gone into effect on Saturday morning even if Trump had not signed it, Reuters reported.

The bill, which was passed by the US Congress last month, amends US policy to allow visits by officials at all levels. High-level Taiwan officials should be permitted to enter the US to meet US counterparts, said the Reuters report.

The legislation follows a number of provocative moves by the US against China.