There is growing public concern in Taiwan about the nation’s vulnerability to Chinese influence and economic coercion, a report to the US Congress says.
Issued by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the report says that concern stems from the continued growth of cross-strait trade agreements under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
“In an effort to address the threat posed to Taiwan by China’s military modernization, the US and Taiwan maintain a strong but low-profile security partnership through military-to-military exchanges and arms sales,” says the report, which was to be released yesterday.
It says that while the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) has opened up trade, critics believe that economic gains largely benefit a few large Taiwanese firms at the expense of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“As Taiwan’s reliance on China as a trading partner has increased from 12 percent of annual trade in 2003 to 22 percent in 2013, its overall share of trade with its other major trading partners has necessarily decreased,” the report says.
“This dependency may provide leverage to China as it seeks to tie Taiwan closer to China and make progress on its long-term goal of unification with Taiwan,” it says.
“If enough time passes without the ratification of the Cross-Strait Services Trade Agreement [CSSTA], Beijing may conclude cross-Strait cooperation agreements are no longer meeting its objectives and pursue a more destabilizing, unilateral approach to Taiwan,” the report says.
It says that although relations between Taiwan and China have improved dramatically since 2008, China’s military modernization continues to focus on improving its ability to conduct operations against Taiwan and to “deter, delay and deny” any US intervention in a cross-strait conflict.
“The increased range and capabilities of China’s power projection platforms have largely negated Taiwan’s historic geographic advantages in a cross-strait conflict,” it says.
“China’s computer network operation capabilities also pose a major threat to Taiwan,” it says.
According to the report, counterintelligence risks to Taiwan and to US military information and equipment in the nation are increasing as cross-strait ties expand and Chinese visit Taiwan in greater numbers.
“US-Taiwan relations took positive but small steps forward this past year,” the report says. “Taiwan has expanded its international engagement in recent years, but China continues to restrict Taiwan’s participation in most international organizations.”
“Taiwan’s recent focus on developing innovative and asymmetric military capabilities and continued acquisition of major conventional platforms and weapons systems from the US have improved Taiwan’s military capabilities,” the report says. “However, the cross-strait balance of power has shifted decidedly in China’s favor.”
The report also notes that public concern about increasing Chinese influence on Taiwan’s media is increasing.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS