Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
Basically, China believes US sales of more advanced weapons to Taiwan will further fan the flames for Taiwan independence. The Beijing administration even said it does not rule out the possibility of a preemptive strike against Taiwan.
Riding on its economic development, China has speedily increased military expenditures, deployed missiles, and purchased weapons such as advanced warplanes. This is truly a display of hegemonic militarism. The speedy expansion and strengthening of Chinese military prowess has threatened the US and Japan.
Taiwan, chronically intimidated by China's increased missile deployments and military force, has no choice but to procure defensive weapons to protect itself and maintain peace in the Strait.
China believes that US interference is the reason why the Taiwan issue has remained unresolved. But actually, the crux lies in China's policy of building up its military power at all costs, as well as making military and verbal threats to Taiwan.
Solving the Taiwan-China problem peacefully without resorting to military means is the wish embraced by 23 million Taiwanese. Taiwan's efforts to procure weapons are aimed at self-defense and maintaining security in the Strait, not for an arms race with China.
From the Chinese response to the arms sales, we realize that even though Taiwan's government has constantly shown goodwill, China will never stop intimidating Taiwan as long as Taiwan refuses to bow to it. Hanging on to its "one China" principle and annexing Taiwan has been China's consistent stance.
We want to appeal to China once again. If China wants to solve the cross-strait problem through peaceful means and prevent the US from continuing to sell weapons to Taiwan, the best strategy is to remove its several hundred missiles that are aimed at Taiwan, and to make a public statement that it will never threaten Taiwan by military force.
Chinese leaders should use their immense military expenditures to instead improve people's living conditions and welfare and to initiate democratic reforms.
Only if China responds to Taiwan with goodwill can the two sides become good neighbors and enjoy prosperity on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
Chen Lung-chu is the Chairman of the Chen Lung-chu New Century Foundation.
Translated by Jackie Lin
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully
As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, cutting power to more than 170,000 homes and water supply to more than 400,000 homes, and leading to more than 600 injuries and four deaths. Due to the typhoon, schools and offices across the nation were ordered to close for two to four days, stirring up familiar controversies over whether local governments’ decisions to call typhoon days were appropriate. The typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) at noon on Thursday, but it weakened into a tropical depression early on Friday, and its structure
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
RSS