The inclusion of Taiwan in China’s pending National Security Law means that China sees Taiwan as a major national security concern rather than as an internal affair or an issue of nationalism, suggesting that the issue is not up for compromise, academics told a forum hosted by the Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei yesterday.
After Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last year expounded his outlook on Chinese national security, aiming to achieve the objectives in “eight dimensions and four stages,” China’s National People’s Congress began revising China’s National Security Law.
Article 11 of the law reportedly stipulates that protection of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is an obligation for all Chinese people, including the people of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and that no division is to be tolerated.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
China has listed resolution of “the Taiwan issue” as one of its objectives in the proposed “third stage,” from 2021 to 2049, saying: “Appropriate measures must be taken to realize national unification and territorial integrity,” while including Taiwan in the law as part of its efforts toward achieving the goal, academics said.
For China, the nature of “the Taiwan issue” has changed from one sensitive to Chinese nationalism in the past to one that creates uncertainty about Chinese national security, because a separation of Taiwan divides Chinese sovereignty and territory and obstructs its plan to expand its maritime presence, National Taipei University professor Hao Pei-chih (郝培芝) said.
In view of the concerns, China is working on three fronts to resolve the issue, one of which is to “institutionalize” its claim that Taiwan is part of China by having Taiwan included in the National Security Law, launching the M503 commercial flight route and re-emphasizing its “Anti-Secession” Law, Hao said.
Meanwhile, China has continued to strengthen its armed forces while pushing for a military security coordination mechanism across the Taiwan Strait to counter the security alignment between the US and Japan, and to “decouple Taiwan from the alliance,” she said.
Tsai Yu-tai (蔡育岱), director of the Institute of Strategy and International Affairs at National Chung Cheng University, said the most salient element of Xi’s Taiwan policy is that he has produced what Tsai described as “a workable timetable” to resolve “the Taiwan issue.”
The characterization of Taiwan as an issue of national security concern to China marks a turning point in cross-strait relations, because it means that China considers its resolution imperative in response to changes in the international strategic environment, Tsai said.
That Taiwan is viewed as a national security concern paves the way for China to take military action against the nation.
It remains uncertain whether China would exercise its leverage over Taiwan through economic sanctions or launch attacks to resolve the issue, Tsai said.
“However, ‘securitization’ of the Taiwan issue has placed Taiwan in an even more difficult international environment because there will be no compromise with national security,” Tsai said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS