The government yesterday welcomed international attention on Taiwan’s security, saying that China is to blame for threatening regional stability, after a report by The Economist called Taiwan “the most dangerous place on Earth.”
The report is featured on the cover of the magazine’s latest issue, which depicts the nation as the epicenter of a US-China rivalry.
The cover shows Taiwan in a radar display with dots crossing the Taiwan Strait accompanied by a Chinese flag and dots nearing the east coast with a US flag.
The US maintains a “one China” policy, while maintaining relations with Taiwan, but such “strategic ambiguity is breaking down,” as Washington fears it might no longer be able to deter China from attempting to seize Taiwan by force, the magazine said.
A cross-strait war would be a catastrophe, as Taiwan “lies at the heart of the semiconductor industry,” it said, adding that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), “the world’s most valuable chipmaker, etches 84 percent of the most advanced chips. Were production at TSMC to stop, so would the global electronics industry, at incalculable cost.”
The report said that “American and China must work harder to avoid war over the future of Taiwan,” as “nowhere presents such a test of statesmanship as the most dangerous place on Earth.”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday that many dignitaries, think tanks and media in the US, Australia, Europe and Japan have expressed concerns over the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait under China’s political and military coercion.
The government is glad to see Taiwan’s existence, values and security recognized by the global community, Ou said.
The “danger” highlighted by the report originates from China, which not only targets the Taiwan Strait, but also directs intimidation and expansionism across the East China Sea, the South China Sea and South Asia, posing serious threats to regional security, she added.
Democratic Progressive Party spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) said the report demonstrates the threats posed by China that Taiwan deals with every day.
Many people used to consider it an issue between Taiwan and China, but now the international community has become aware of China’s threats to the world and regional stability, she said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) urged leaders in Taipei, Beijing and Washington to stay rational and resolve conflicts through dialogue.
The Taiwan Strait should not become a battlefield for superpowers, which The Economist’s report echoes, Chiang said.
Taiwan would be wounded if a military and political face-off between the US and China grows, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA and Chien Hui-ju
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