China’s English-language propaganda newspaper the Global Times on Wednesday reported that the Taiwanese coast guard on Thursday last week “inhumanely and savagely” drove away Chinese fishing boats that were seeking shelter from the northeast monsoon close to Penghu County’s Siji Islet (西吉嶼).
The report said that a 3,000-tonne Kaohsiung-class coast guard vessel was dispatched to the area to drive away the Chinese fishing boats from “restricted waters,” putting the vessels’ crew in grave danger.
Chinese Internet users shared the report online and called Taiwan’s coast guard “demented,” while Ta Kung Pao, a Chinese state mouthpiece in Hong Kong, attacked Taiwanese for being “cold-hearted.”
However, there is more to the affair than meets the eye.
In the fall, the northeast monsoon gradually picks up strength. In addition to causing lower temperatures, the monsoon season brings large waves and strong winds to the waters surrounding Taiwan. This is common knowledge to Taiwanese — even more so for the fishers who rely on the sea for living.
In today’s era of modern weather forecasting and advanced communications technology, fishers have access to real-time satellite-based information on wave heights and wind speed in almost every maritime environment on the planet, and can receive radio and Internet-based safety notifications.
It is impossible that the Chinese fishing boats were not aware of the northeast monsoon. In seeking to portray the boats as having innocently sought refuge after chancing upon a storm, Chinese state media are clearly lying through their teeth.
Some might ask: What motivation is there for China to hype up this situation?
First, it is being used as an excuse to provide cover for the unscrupulous activities of Chinese dredging boats which, for the past two years, have been intruding into shallow coastal waters off Penghu and Kinmen counties to extract sand.
The sand is being used for the construction of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport and a land reclamation project at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport.
Second, Beijing is testing the waters. By creating a storm in a teapot and piling pressure on Taiwan, it is testing whether the government would soften its stance toward Chinese vessels encroaching into Taiwan’s sovereign waters.
If the coast guard strictly enforces the law and drives away the boats, Beijing can use it as an excuse to levy wild accusations in its propaganda campaign against Taiwan.
On the other hand, if the coast guard allows the Chinese vessels to shelter from the monsoon in Taiwanese waters on humanitarian grounds, a precedent would have been set and other Chinese vessels would inevitably follow suit, enabling Beijing to gradually erode the legal enforcement of the nation’s territorial claims.
For this reason, the government cannot afford to let its guard down. It must strictly enforce the law against any incursions by Chinese vessels.
The history of the Chinese Civil War teaches us that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would use ordinary people as human shields during times of war to achieve tactical or strategic aims. They beautified this by calling it the “people’s war.”
Although the CCP has ruled China for more than seven decades, nothing has changed. The “people’s war” has evolved into a key component of the CCP’s “unrestricted warfare” doctrine, which it uses against its foreign enemies.
The tough reality is that if Taiwanese show kindness toward China’s fishing boat militia, they are being cruel to themselves.
John Yu is a civil servant.
Translated by Edward Jones
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big