The appearance of structures similar to the Presidential Office Building in China’s recent war games sparked Internet debate over whether the footage was a targeted provocation against Taiwan and a demonstration of China’s willingness to resort to military force to unify Taiwan with China.
In the most recent Military Report show aired by Chinese state-media China Central Television (CCTV) on July 5, exercises at the Zhurihe Training Base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region successfully simulated a “decapitation” strategy and demonstrated high efficiency in intelligence gathering where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), helicopters and recon teams sent back hundreds of photographs to command.
The three-minute video clip featured special forces personnel sprinting into a five-story building with a tower in one of the Stride 2015 Zhurihe series of exercises by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Photo: CNA screen grab from CCTV
The footage showing Chinese troops maneuvering toward a building resembling the Presidential Office Building was not the first time Chinese forces have simulated an attack on Taiwan in military exercises.
The PLA reportedly built a replica of Taichung’s shared-use Cingcyuangang Air Field in China’s Gansu Province to simulate attacks on the airfield. The PLA Army, PLA Air Force and special forces also reportedly established a special forces team in the Nanjing military zone that was fluent in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) earlier this year.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) yesterday said that the implied target of the military exercise was detrimental to cross-strait relations and was not an action either the Taiwanese or the international community could accept.
The ministry is up to date on all PLA exercises and while adhering to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) instructions of “three defensive lines” and not embarking on an arms race with China, the military maintains a force that would effectively deter Taiwan’s enemies and capably defend the nation, Lo said.
The three defensive lines refers to Ma’s previous statements, with the first being institutionalized relations with China; the other two the country’s soft power and international support for Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or