A new article by former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs Kurt Campbell might contain a veiled warning for Taiwan.
Writing in the Financial Times, Campbell said that until Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) came to power last year, the prevailing view was that Beijing was prepared to shelve hotly disputed issues for a later date and be content to maintain an ill-defined “status quo.”
However, now, China is no longer simply responding, but acting on its own initiative, Campbell said.
He said that by many accounts, Xi is the most powerful leader at this stage of his tenure of any previous Chinese Communist Party leader since Mao Zedong (毛澤東).
While Campbell — one of the most highly respected and knowledgeable US diplomats to specialize in China — does not actually mention Taiwan in the short article, the nation and its problems with Beijing, would seem to fit neatly into his theory about the new shape of China’s foreign policy.
In the past, Campbell said, China watchers saw its actions as “reactively assertive,” suggesting that Beijing’s rulers were simply taking the necessary steps in response to prodding or provocations from surrounding states.
However, the situation has changed with Xi in power, with “various military deployments, policy proclamations, provocative naval maneuvers and rhetorical stridency” in the East and South China seas.
Campbell said the conventional wisdom was that China was primarily focused on its domestic imperatives and “unanticipated accidents and incidents were the worry, not premeditated gambits.”
He said Xi’s ambitious economic reform and his much more robust rhetoric “all suggest that we are entering a new phase.”
Campbell said that, by all accounts, Xi plays a dominant role in the formulation and execution of “matters big and small.”
There is a much more concerted coordination at every level in the Chinese government and “the current set of provocations are not haphazard, they have been carefully choreographed,” Campbell added.
“Recent Chinese steps and the centrality of Xi’s role is yet another reminder of the importance of concentrated, regular, high level diplomacy with China to accurately gauge intent and to send consequential messages,” he said. “Perhaps nothing in the world is more important.”
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS