Over the past two weeks the contrast between China’s hostility and Taiwan’s peaceful approach has become clear once more for all to see. Beijing is raising tensions further and further, while Taipei is keeping a cool head and is striving for peaceful coexistence.
In his inauguration address on May 20, President William Lai (賴清德) struck a conciliatory tone, and reiterated he would not do anything to change the “status quo.” Lai also said he would like to see a reopening of exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, including Chinese tourist groups coming to Taiwan.
However, he also said that the Republic of China (ROC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to each other, and urged Beijing to stop threatening Taiwan.
He added that Taiwanese must not be under any illusion about the threat from China, and that Taiwan must further strengthen its defenses.
Regrettably, just three days after the inauguration, China commenced large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan, called “Joint Sword-2024A.”
Chinese officials said the drills were intended to “serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces.”
Never mind that the nature and scale of the operations showed they were long-planned, and thus that the PRC was going to conduct them irrespective of what Lai would have said in his inauguration speech.
The next sign of China’s silly and foolhardy intransigence came on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore, where Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) made some outrageously offensive statements about Taiwan.
In a long-winded speech mainly focused on Taiwan, Dong — who was only appointed in December last year after his predecessor mysteriously disappeared — warned that Taiwan’s “aggressive” behavior and external forces to abet it were “eroding” the prospects for peaceful “reunification.”
Never mind that “peaceful reunification” is a contradiction in terms, as most observers of Taiwan and China agree that unification would never be peaceful. One only has to look at the examples of Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The real “peacefulness” there is that through harsh repression, the people’s voice has been silenced.
Interestingly, Dong also had a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the forum. Afterward he said that more dialogue was necessary, because of the differences between the two militaries.
“We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet each other halfway,” he said.
The problem with Dong’s statement is that they are just empty words. In its relations with Taiwan, China has cut off all exchanges with the democratically elected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government since 2016, in spite of the readiness and willingness of the DPP government — both of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Lai — to sit down on an equal basis without preconditions.
The international community needs to clearly understand the difference between Lai’s peaceful and moderate approach, and China’s ratcheting up the pressure and raising tensions in the region through its irresponsible words and actions.
To prevent a conflict from happening it is essential for the international community to double its collective efforts to make clear to the Beijing authorities that their current policies would be detrimental to peace and stability in the region, and thus seriously damage China’s own economic interests and standing in the world.
Gerrit van der Wees is a former Dutch diplomat who teaches Taiwan history and US relations with East Asia at George Mason University, and previously taught at the George Washington University Elliott School for International Affairs in Washington.
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
We are witnessing a sea change in the government’s approach to China, from one of reasonable, low-key reluctance at rocking the boat to a collapse of pretense over and patience in Beijing’s willful intransigence. Finally, we are seeing a more common sense approach in the face of active shows of hostility from a foreign power. According to Article 2 of the 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), a “foreign hostile force” is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff with the Republic of China [ROC]. The same stipulation applies to
RSS