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.
Chinese state-owned companies COSCO Shipping Corporation and China Merchants have a 30 percent stake in Kaohsiung Port’s Kao Ming Container Terminal (Terminal No. 6) and COSCO leases Berths 65 and 66. It is extremely dangerous to allow Chinese companies or state-owned companies to operate critical infrastructure. Deterrence theorists are familiar with the concepts of deterrence “by punishment” and “by denial.” Deterrence by punishment threatens an aggressor with prohibitive costs (like retaliation or sanctions) that outweigh the benefits of their action, while deterrence by denial aims to make an attack so difficult that it becomes pointless. Elbridge Colby, currently serving as the Under
The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday last week said it ordered Internet service providers to block access to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小紅書, also known as RedNote in English) for a year, citing security risks and more than 1,700 alleged fraud cases on the platform since last year. The order took effect immediately, abruptly affecting more than 3 million users in Taiwan, and sparked discussions among politicians, online influencers and the public. The platform is often described as China’s version of Instagram or Pinterest, combining visual social media with e-commerce, and its users are predominantly young urban women,
Most Hong Kongers ignored the elections for its Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2021 and did so once again on Sunday. Unlike in 2021, moderate democrats who pledged their allegiance to Beijing were absent from the ballots this year. The electoral system overhaul is apparent revenge by Beijing for the democracy movement. On Sunday, the Hong Kong “patriots-only” election of the LegCo had a record-low turnout in the five geographical constituencies, with only 1.3 million people casting their ballots on the only seats that most Hong Kongers are eligible to vote for. Blank and invalid votes were up 50 percent from the previous
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi lit a fuse the moment she declared that trouble for Taiwan means trouble for Japan. Beijing roared, Tokyo braced and like a plot twist nobody expected that early in the story, US President Donald Trump suddenly picked up the phone to talk to her. For a man who normally prefers to keep Asia guessing, the move itself was striking. What followed was even more intriguing. No one outside the room knows the exact phrasing, the tone or the diplomatic eyebrow raises exchanged, but the broad takeaway circulating among people familiar with the call was this: Trump did
RSS