The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) appointment of two generals from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command to its Central Military Commission signals that Beijing is heightening its military preparedness regarding Taiwan, a report said.
A Mainland Affairs Council report published last week said that He Weidong (何衛東) and Miao Hua (苗華), who both served in the Eastern Theater Command, were appointed as vice chairmen in the seven-person commission at last month’s 20th National Congress of the CCP.
At the congress, Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping (習近平) vowed to build China into a powerful nation with “Chinese modernization” that underlined national security and science education, the council said in its Third-Quarter Report on the Situation in Mainland China.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Xi said he would institute a system to put the heads of the Central Military Commission at the highest command level to lead the country, it said.
Following joint exercises between the PLA Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force in August, China would seek to normalize military exercises with ASEAN members, it said.
The report said that the CCP added anti-Taiwanese independence language to its congress report, quoting it as saying that “solving Taiwan problems and realizing the complete unification is China’s historical mission,” and that Beijing “will never promise to give up the use of force.”
China would continue to push for more economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait in the hopes of achieving unification through integration, while continuing military threats and attempts to suppress Taiwan on the international stage, the report said.
The national congress report emphasized the importance of China’s autonomy in foreign affairs and opposition to foreign intervention in its domestic affairs, the council’s report said.
The CCP document also criticized the US’ Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act, which it said positioned China as “a competitor that reshapes international order.”
The council report also addressed China’s economic situation.
It said that China’s 3 percent economic growth in the first three quarters of the year, languishing housing market, rising fiscal deficit, record-high consumer price index and high unemployment rate led international institutions to lower their economic growth forecast for the county this year from 3.9 to 2.7 percent.
China’s strict “zero COVID-19” restrictions and electricity rationing have also stirred discontent among its citizens, the report said.
Beijing has asked social media personalities to promote the CCP’s ideology and “the shared consciousness toward the motherland of the Chinese people at home and abroad,” it said.
Regarding Xinjiang, Beijing continues to emphasize economic development and attempts to implement strict social controls, while in Hong Kong and Macau it has reiterated Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula of governance, it said.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS