Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech tomorrow as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said yesterday.
Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai's speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims.
A US state department spokesperson said they could not speculate on what China would or would not do.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
"However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive measures undermines peace and stability," the spokesperson said.
China late yesterday accused Lai of escalating tensions with "sinister intentions" in a speech he made over the weekend at an event to mark tomorrow’s Double Ten National Day.
Lai said that it is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China (PRC) to become Taiwan's motherland because the Republic of China has older political roots.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said he was confusing right from wrong.
Lai's “Taiwan independence fallacy is just old wine in a new bottle, and again exposes his obstinate stance on Taiwan independence and his sinister intentions of escalating hostility and confrontation," it said.
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said it was an objective fact that since 1949, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan.
"The Taiwan Affairs Office's remarks have made Taiwan's people see clearly that the Chinese communists regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of China and simply do not allow any room for the survival of the Republic of China," it said.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense today also reiterated its objections to US weapons sales to Taiwan, after the administration of US President Joe Biden approved US$567 million in further defense support.
"What needs stressing is that arming Taiwan is encouraging Taiwan independence, and Taiwan independence means war," the ministry said, echoing previous language it has used.
The Ministry of National Defense told Reuters in a statement that China has been using various reasons to "legitimize its targeted military drills."
"We continue to monitor and analyze the training dynamics of the Chinese communists around the Taiwan Strait in order to anticipate the situation," the ministry said.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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