Beijing would not give up its military aggression against Taiwan no matter which political party wins the presidential election next month, an Australian academic said on Thursday.
The University of Sydney’s US Studies Centre invited Australian and US academics to join a panel discussion on Taiwan’s presidential election, and its implications for Australia and beyond.
Richard McGregor, a senior fellow for East Asia at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute think tank, said that the presidential election is important, as it “represents the fundamental break between China and Taiwan.”
Photo: CNA
If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wins the presidency again, it would “undoubtedly” provoke some kind of military response from Beijing, as Chinese officials and academics have told him, McGregor said.
While an invasion is unlikely, China might impose a blockade to “exhibit US impotence,” making the US “look like it’s losing its power and losing its grip,” he said.
If the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) wins, “there will be more carrots” from China, probably including lifting some trade embargoes, and increasing people-to-people and official exchanges, he said.
However, Beijing would not give up its “fundamental aim on unification,” meaning military exercises and coercion “will never go away,” he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “has been quieter” prior to the election this time compared with the previous one in 2020, when he spoke about how “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong would apply to Taiwan, which backfired and might have contributed to the DPP’s victory, McGregor said.
Beijing has a variety of approaches to exert its influence, such as roping in Taiwanese officials to build grassroots support, economic coercion and disinformation campaigns, he said.
Former US National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Michael Green said that the US is witnessing the highest-ever level of bipartisan support for Taipei and concern about what Beijing might do.
For Southeast Asian countries, they hope to maintain the “status quo” and avoid conflicts “at all costs,” so they are unlikely to take a strong position on Taiwan’s election, said Lavina Lee, a senior lecturer in Macquarie University’s Department of Security Studies and Criminology.
China has been attempting to “neutralize” Southeast Asian countries, preventing them from getting involved in a Taiwan contingency, Lee said, adding that the efforts have been “quite successful.”
Taiwan building “a strong, robust democracy in such a short period of time” from the ground up is “actually extremely remarkable,” she said, adding that the wishes of Taiwanese should be respected.
Taiwan has come a long way from being ruled by an authoritarian regime under martial law to becoming a beacon of democracy in the Asia-Pacific region, Representative to Australia Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) said.
Taiwanese are willing to do anything to safeguard their democracy, which was born of great sacrifice and is a “way of life,” Hsu said.
“This is our election. This is our democracy,” he said.
Hsu said he believes that whoever wins the presidential election would ensure that Taiwan continues to be a “resilient, free and democratic country,” as well as a responsible global stakeholder.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai