The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday denounced China for publicly threatening Taiwan at an international event, saying that it was tantamount to a declaration of war and flouted peaceful international relations.
The council made the remarks after Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) earlier in the day said that China would “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwanese independence.
In a fiery address to the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore yesterday, Wei said that Beijing would have “no choice” but to fight if attempts are made to “separate” Taiwan from China.
Photo: CNA
“We will fight at all cost, and we will fight to the very end,” he told the summit, which brings together defense ministers from Asia and elsewhere.
“No one should ever underestimate the resolve and ability of the Chinese armed forces to safeguard its territorial integrity,” he said.
“Those who pursue Taiwanese independence in an attempt to split China will definitely come to no good end,” he added.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The MAC said in a statement that Wei’s remarks “proved that Beijing is the source of the regional disturbance.”
The council said it is “a fact” that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait do not belong to each other, and that Taiwan has never been a part of China.
China has been ignoring Taiwan and other countries’ opposition to its aggressive actions and false claims, and trying to unify with Taiwan by force, the MAC said, adding that China would suffer the consequences of meddling with Taiwan’s international support.
Separately yesterday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that Taiwan does not want to close the door on relations with China and is willing to engage in the spirit of goodwill, but on an equal basis and without political preconditions.
Speaking to reporters after China on Friday announced a ban on imports of Taiwanese grouper fish on safety grounds, a move Taipei called politically motivated, Su said Taiwan has always shown goodwill toward China.
“As long as there is equality, reciprocity and no political preconditions, we are willing to engage in goodwill with China,” he said, reiterating a position that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has repeatedly made in public.
“As for China’s harassment of Taiwan with military aircraft, warships, unreasonable suppression and political actions, the one being most unreasonable is China,” Su added. “Taiwan does not want to close the door to China. It is China that has used various means to oppress and treat Taiwan unreasonably.”
Beijing has refused to speak to Tsai since she was elected in 2016, viewing her as a separatist who has refused to accept that China and Taiwan are part of “one China.”
Tsai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, and while they want peace with China, they would defend themselves if attacked.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday wrote on Twitter: “#Beijing banned #Taiwan #FreedomPineapple imports, now it’s targeting our groupers. That’s what the communists do: They buy & pirate tech before weaponizing. Free & fair trade with #China is a fail. We’re just putting more ammunition in their stockpile.”
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS