China’s ambition to annex Taiwan and its military threats against the nation are nothing new. While the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has identified its aggression as a menace, there is an event bigger peril facing Taiwan: Politicians and the public lack a thorough understanding of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) true nature.
As a result of a collective naivete toward the CCP, Taiwan lacks sufficient vigilance against Chinese hostility.
This is evident in calls for unification by some members of the public and ignorant remarks by opinion leaders, such as Hon Hai Group chairman Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) wishful thinking that “the nation could rely on peace for national defense.”
Those who call for unification fail to see the true nature of the CPP, which is authoritarian, does not respect human rights and has no tolerance for dissent.
Blinded by Beijing’s flowery rhetoric and economic enticements, they fail to see the CCP’s censorship of political opinions, freedom of speech, religious beliefs, news coverage, TV shows and even people’s appearance, such as dyed hair, piercings and tattoos — which are all detrimental to democratic values.
Taiwanese politicians are no exception. Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) speech on Jan. 2 that laid the groundwork for his so-called “five points,” Beijing made it clear that the “one country, two systems” framework is now the guiding principle in its policy toward Taiwan.
Despite this, many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians still hang on to the fictional “1992 consensus” by insisting that it is the “ bridge in ensuring cross-strait peace, prosperity and stability.”
The DPP appears just as feeble in its attitude against Chinese infiltration as it drags its feet in promulgating laws to bolster the nation’s defenses.
While the nation appears to be blinded to the truth, “outsiders” seem to see things more clearly and point at real threats facing Taiwan.
For example, the 2019 Index of US Military Strength published by US think tank the Heritage Foundation says that China has employed political methods called the “three warfares” — legal, public opinion and psychological — to undermine Taiwan’s will.
China’s goal is to “win without fighting,” to take Taiwan without firing a shot or with only minimal resistance before the US can organize an effective response, it says.
Following Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) visit to China’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau last month, Hong Kong democracy advocates Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) and Nathan Law (羅冠聰) urged Taiwanese to take the territory’s experience with the “one country, two system” framework as a warning, and protect their freedom and rights.
However, as the saying goes: “It is better late than never.”
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Sunday said that his caucus would work to have the draft amendments to counter China’s attempts to annex Taiwan and protect the nation’s democracy passed this legislative session.
Gou also appears to have come to his senses, saying on Sunday that he understands the importance of developing advanced technologies to boost the nation’s security.
Appearance and words can be deceiving — only when the public and government share a clear understanding of the CCP’s true autocratic nature can they grasp a real sense of the threat posed by China.
Taiwan stands at the epicenter of a seismic shift that will determine the Indo-Pacific’s future security architecture. Whether deterrence prevails or collapses will reverberate far beyond the Taiwan Strait, fundamentally reshaping global power dynamics. The stakes could not be higher. Today, Taipei confronts an unprecedented convergence of threats from an increasingly muscular China that has intensified its multidimensional pressure campaign. Beijing’s strategy is comprehensive: military intimidation, diplomatic isolation, economic coercion, and sophisticated influence operations designed to fracture Taiwan’s democratic society from within. This challenge is magnified by Taiwan’s internal political divisions, which extend to fundamental questions about the island’s identity and future
The narrative surrounding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attendance at last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit — where he held hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin and chatted amiably with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — was widely framed as a signal of Modi distancing himself from the US and edging closer to regional autocrats. It was depicted as Modi reacting to the levying of high US tariffs, burying the hatchet over border disputes with China, and heralding less engagement with the Quadrilateral Security dialogue (Quad) composed of the US, India, Japan and Australia. With Modi in China for the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has postponed its chairperson candidate registration for two weeks, and so far, nine people have announced their intention to run for chairperson, the most on record, with more expected to announce their campaign in the final days. On the evening of Aug. 23, shortly after seven KMT lawmakers survived recall votes, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) announced he would step down and urged Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) to step in and lead the party back to power. Lu immediately ruled herself out the following day, leaving the subject in question. In the days that followed, several
The Jamestown Foundation last week published an article exposing Beijing’s oil rigs and other potential dual-use platforms in waters near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島). China’s activities there resembled what they did in the East China Sea, inside the exclusive economic zones of Japan and South Korea, as well as with other South China Sea claimants. However, the most surprising element of the report was that the authors’ government contacts and Jamestown’s own evinced little awareness of China’s activities. That Beijing’s testing of Taiwanese (and its allies) situational awareness seemingly went unnoticed strongly suggests the need for more intelligence. Taiwan’s naval
RSS