Behind the Taiwan issue

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

Beijing ready to snuff out any separatist move, and live-fire drill in Taiwan Strait is proof, official says

Head of mainland-based Taiwan Affairs Office says any attempt to divide Chinese territory is destined to fail

 

 

The live-fire exercise that mainland China’s navy plans to hold in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday is designed to show that Beijing will not tolerate any moves by separatist forces to divide its territory, a top Taiwan affairs official from the mainland Chinese government said on Monday.

 

“[beijing’s] military drills will be a move to safeguard our motherland’s sovereignty and integrity,” he said, when asked about the purpose of the exercise.

“[The mainland] has enough willpower and capability to stop any attempt, in word or deed, to split any territory from the motherland.”

 

[Randy W]

in the Global Times

 

China should prepare for cross-Straits crisis

Source:Global Times Published: 2018/6/7 23:18:39

 

 

 

The Taiwan Straits is China's core interest. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with Beijing, Washington has by and large abided by the principles enshrined in the three communiqués. However, the phone call between Donald Trump and Tsai Ing-wen when he was president-elect derailed that protocol in bilateral relations. Afterward, the US Congress passed a series of Taiwan-related acts. Washington seems to be playing an active role in sabotaging cross-Straits stability.

China and the US are likely to face a new Taiwan Straits crisis sooner or later. China needs to make early preparations. The Chinese mainland is not afraid of any crisis in the Taiwan Straits, even a showdown, so as to quash US and Taiwan aggressiveness and safeguard national unity.

Concessions won't win long-term peace and cooperation between China and the US. Only if both countries act in accordance with principles and do not cross each other's bottom line can bilateral relations be stabilized.

 

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

Taiwan’s military exercise sends three loud and clear messages – to China, the US and its own people

Michal Thim says given that military force might be China’s only option in its pursuit of Taiwan, the island’s recent Han Kuang exercise signals its battle readiness

 

 

Using the People’s Liberation Army is not the only tool in Beijing’s campaign to pressure Taiwan. Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic and Panama have switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing this year. And scores of airlines have changed their designation of destinations to reflect China’s position that Taiwan is its province.

However, whether any of that will directly affect the stance of either Taiwan’s government or its population remains doubtful. The Taiwanese public will learn to live with these measures as their impact on Taiwan’s capability to continue to function as a de facto independent state is limited at best.

It is precisely the limited success of non-military coercive measures and political incentives that increasingly narrow Beijing’s options in its desire to annex Taiwan into the People’s Republic, making military force not the last but the only available resort.

The decision-makers in Taipei are well aware of this predicament. If Taiwan won’t give in to political and economic pressure, the deployment of force by Beijing becomes more likely. To that end, the Han Kuang exercise, and other smaller, less-publicised drills, openly address the most severe challenges that Taiwan’s defence would face.

. . .

The exercise’s second message is for Washington. The US commitment to defend Taiwan is contingent on Taiwan’s capability to successfully fight alone in the early stage of the conflict. US intervention could take weeks, depending on the nature of early warning signs. This shows the US that Taiwan is prepared for various scenarios.

The US is engaged in messaging too, to signal to Beijing that US-Taiwan relations are as strong as ever. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis reconfirmed the importance of America’s relationship with Taiwan during his Shangri-La Dialogue speech this month. On May 31, Taiwan’s military leadership attended the appointment ceremony of the new commander of the US Navy’s Indo-Pacific Command. Moreover, Washington is considering conducting freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait.

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP - more reading material for those who are interested

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping takes pacifying line on Taiwan as hawks call for force

Xi steers clear of harsh rhetoric in talks with former KMT chairman Lien Chan to appeal to the Taiwanese public, analysts say

 

In a meeting in Beijing on Friday with Lien Chan, former chairman of Taiwan’s mainland-friendly Kuomintang, Xi said: “We have the confidence and ability to keep a firm hold on the correct direction, work for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and advance the process toward the peaceful reunification of China.”

The tone was a contrast to more hawkish mainland voices that have grown louder as the United States has stepped up intervention on Taiwan over the past few months and tensions have simmered between Taipei’s pro-independence administration and Beijing.

Observers in Beijing and Taipei said Xi was trying to tone down the rhetoric and stop it from having a real impact on cross-strait relations.

 

 

[Randy W]

Apparently, she's not supposed to make a spectacle of herself (you know, by actually having something to SAY) - from the SCMP

Warm, high-profile welcome for Taiwanese president in the United States

Tsai Ing-wen invokes late US leader Ronald Reagan in rebuff to military and diplomatic pressure from Beijing

 

 

“[Tsai] was probably given such courtesy because of the attitude of the US Congress in the past few years that Taiwan should not be treated unreasonably, and Beijing’s more recent persistent suppression of Taiwan,” Wang said.

He said it was not in line with American interests for Taiwan to bow to pressure from Beijing, given Washington’s desire for Taipei to stand with it to counter the Chinese mainland.

 

 

[Randy W]

in the Shanghaiist - they just don't miss a beat

 

Taiwan coffee chain 85°C disappears from all major Chinese food apps

A brief visit by Tsai Ing-wen has placed the company's business in mainland China in peril

 

 

 

In the wake of the Taiwanese president’s brief visit, Chinese netizens have angrily accused 85°C Bakery Café of supporting Taiwanese independence with some even calling for a boycott of the company which has more than 600 shops in mainland China.

Yesterday morning, 85°C responded to the online outrage by issuing a groveling apology in which it praised the Chinese government and voiced its “firm support” for upholding the ”1992 Consensus” and the “cross-strait family.”

 

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

US sending American personnel to guard its de facto embassy in Taiwan

State Department declines to say whether marines will be stationed in uniform at American Institute in Taiwan, the informal US embassy in Taipei

 

 

“As is the practice at AIT’s current location, a small number of American personnel detailed to AIT along with a larger number of locally hired employees will provide security for the new office building in cooperation with local authorities,” the spokesman said.

Earlier media reports, including CNN, said in June the State Department had requested that US marines be sent to the AIT.

. . .

The United States customarily deploys marines in uniform as guards at American embassies, consulates and other official government buildings around the world. If it did so in Taipei, it would be the first time since 1979 – when the United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China – that Washington had applied similar security protocols to its unofficial embassy there.

Having marines in uniform at the premises would potentially provoke a furious response from Beijing, which could see it as Washington raising the status of the AIT.

 

 

The complex in Guangzhou "Situated in a garden setting, the seven-building complex includes a consular building, an office building, a residence for U.S. Marines, a warehouse with service shops, and three entrance pavilions to welcome employees, visitors, and consular customers.", but it's unclear if there are Marines stationed there (or at Beijing) in uniform.

[Randy W]

from the Global Times

 

Taiwan’s silly folly in aiding trade war

 

As the China-US trade war flares up, the island of Taiwan has decided to buy more soybeans from the US. It is reported that Taiwan will buy between 3.2-3.9 million tons of soybeans valued at up to $1.56 billion from Iowa and Minnesota in 2018 and 2019.

The moves by Taiwan are both pitiful and ridiculous. It is clear that Taiwan authorities have thrown themselves at the US and have become the only party to pick a side between Beijing and Washington amid their intense trade frictions.

Taiwan authorities did not do so out of nobleness, but because it has no bargaining chip in its relations with the US. It can only "pay tribute" to the US to win Washington's favor and secure US' promises to protect Taiwan's security.

. . .

The population of Taiwan equals that of Beijing, and Taiwan cannot consume that many US soybeans. That Taiwan buys US soybeans is like buying arms and sending US money. But even arms won't guarantee Taiwan security, let alone soybeans.

Taiwan's security can only be secured through political means not military means. If Taiwan makes itself a pawn of external forces to oppose the Chinese mainland, it will lose leverage to gain security for itself and set itself adrift amid China-US competition.

Taiwan should also be clear that its trade surplus mainly comes from the mainland and amounts to tens of billions of dollars annually. The mainland will not interfere with Taiwan developing normal trade ties with other countries, but Taiwan should not exploit these ties to target the mainland. If Taiwan helps external forces hit the mainland's economy, it will become a target of control by the mainland.

 

[Randy W]

My reaction is, it's about time! That line of reunification "by force, if necessary" has always seemed to be glaringly threatening, especially considering the military action they've taken in the Taiwan Strait.

 

United States won’t allow force against Taiwan, new US envoy says as Beijing piles on pressure

• Washington opposed to unilateral threats to change island’s status quo, Brent Christensen says

 

 

In his debut press conference on the island on Wednesday, Brent Christensen, the new director of the US de facto embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan, signalled stronger US support for the island in the face of persistent pressure from Beijing against Taipei.

“I am here to tell you that US policy towards Taiwan has not changed,” Christensen said.

“Any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means represents a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and is of grave concern to the United States.

 

 

[wawster]

I agree. It is good to finally see a response.

[Randy W]

from the SCMP - Taiwan to vote on removing ‘China’ from name of 2020 Olympic team

 

Risking Beijing’s wrath, Taiwan to vote on removing ‘China’ from name of its 2020 Olympic team

 

• A November 24 referendum will ask whether Taiwan’s international athletic teams should drop the ‘Chinese Taipei’ title
• The campaign has won the support of Chi Cheng, Taiwan’s first female Olympic medallist

 

 

 

 

Quote

An angry Beijing warned last month that Taiwan would “swallow its own bitter fruit” and could be sacrificing its athletes’ chances to compete in the Games.

 

Beijing’s International Olympic Committee said in mid-October that the mainland “will not sit by if the vote is passed”. It said the IOC had already resolved in May that it would not allow any name change for Taiwan and had informed the island’s International Olympic Committee about the resolution.

 

The mainland’s defence ministry sees the vote as a prelude for the island to declare independence.

 

“The Taiwan issue is related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and touches upon China’s core interests,” the mainland’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said at a forum in Beijing last month.

 

“If anyone wants to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese forces would take necessary actions at all cost to retake it,” he said.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

Sounds like some strong words. It just might come to a head one day.

[Allon]

Reading an interesting book I have mentioned before on the history of Taiwan and the islands in the South China sea that China claims to hold as part of its long dynasty. The islands actually were never really China's at all, mostly because there is a question of what was China to begin with. Sort of like claiming California was always part of the US even before the Louisiana Purchase and the war with Mexico that got them that land to begin with. And the ancestry of the islands is not Chinese as is always mentioned in most political histories. It 's a mix of the nearby islands including Samoa (and the other Micronesian islands), the Philippines, Vietnam (or Indochina as it is falsely called), and Japan. The ancestral owners of those islands belonged to those ethnic groups within those outlying islands, not China.

 

The stories coming from China about how they were the major power in the East for hundreds even thousands of years is only partially true. The problem in history has been as it is now: no one enforces their rights.

 

 

 

Asian Waters: The Struggle Over the South China Sea and the Strategy of Chinese Expansion, Humphrey Hawksley. 2018, Overlook Press.

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

 

Democratic Progressive Party suffers big defeat in Taiwan elections; Tsai Ing-wen resigns as chairwoman

• Independence-leaning party loses seven of 13 cities and counties in Saturday’s polls
• Premier William Lai also offers his resignation to Tsai and says he will lead cabinet to resign en masse

 

Tsai had been facing mounting pressure from Beijing and a domestic backlash over the economy.

The KMT swept to a landslide victory, winning not only the southern city of Kaohsiung, but also its former political territory Taichung in central Taiwan, allowing it to increase its influence to at least three of the six special municipalities and a number of other local cities and counties, with the full result yet to be declared.

. . .

Analysts said the result of the poll may also end up costing Tsai the presidency as she might not be nominated to run in the 2020 elections.

“The results indicate the public are strongly dissatisfied with the performance of Tsai and used their ballots to teach her a lesson,” said Wang Kung-yi, a political-science professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei.

 

. . .

 

The referendum results are expected to be announced about 2am on Sunday.

 

[Randy W]

. . . and

 

Beijing seeks to build ties with Taiwan cities after ruling party suffers election defeat

• Local elections saw independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party lose control of several strongholds
• US says polling highlights strength of self-ruled island’s democratic system

 

 

The spokesman also said the defeat of a referendum proposition that the island should seek to compete in the 2020 Olympics as Taiwan, rather than Chinese Taipei, showed that putting Taiwanese athletes’ interests at stake “was against the will of the people”.

Beijing was opposed to the proposal and the International Olympic Committee had warned Taiwan that its athletes risked being excluded from international competition.