Mon, May 10, 2021 page1

• CCP raising tensions on purpose: MAC

  BULLYING: Beijing has deliberately raised tensions on the Taiwan Strait and uses cognitive warfare to wear down the morale of Taiwanese, the MAC said in a report

  • By Lin Liang-sheng / Staff reporter
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  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is deliberately creating tension in the Taiwan Strait, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a report to the Legislative Yuan.

  MAC Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) is today to deliver a report on the development of the situation in the Strait amid US-China tensions, and answer questions from lawmakers on the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.

  Although the US and China have differences regarding the management and control of various issues, the situation remains stable, the council said in the report, which it submitted to the committee.

  Interactions between the US and China on issues such as the climate, economy and trade, North Korea, Iran’s nuclear program and the Middle East, as well as their strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region, would affect the situation in the region, the report said.

  The CCP continues to reiterate its “one China” principle and deny Taiwan’s sovereignty, the report said.

  Beijing has also said that only by recognizing its “one China” principle and the so-called “1992 consensus” could cross-strait relations become peaceful and stable, and the two sides engage in dialogue, thereby blaming Taiwan for the deadlock in cross-strait relations, the report said.

  The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.

  The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has recently conducted several exercises in the region, the report said.

  The PLA has claimed that its exercises in the Strait, which simulate actual combat, were aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and were solemn responses to interference by external forces and “provocation” by the Taiwanese independence movement, the report said.

  The CCP has deliberately created an atmosphere of tension in the Strait and used cognitive warfare against the nation, and intends to influence international support and the morale of Taiwanese, the report said.

  Without communicating with Taiwan, Beijing unilaterally announced the so-called “22 measures on agriculture and forestry,” and China’s Fujian Province postponed an earlier decision to relax quarantine restrictions for Taiwanese, affecting the rights and interests of Taiwanese and Chinese, the report said.

  Beijing’s continued use of a two-pronged approach of forcing Taiwan into accepting an outcome in cross-strait relations determined unilaterally by China while threatening Taiwan’s national security is the main source of instability in the Strait, the report added.

  In the face of the CCP’s growing threat and challenges to the nation, the government’s policy has always been to maintain the “status quo” across the Strait, the report said.

  The government would continue to carefully assess the situation, reinforce Taiwan’s defense, and defend its sovereignty, democracy and freedom, it added.

  In the report, the council called on Beijing to face the realities on both sides of the Strait and respect Taiwanese public opinion.

  It also urged Beijing to give up its compulsory propositions, and military and diplomatic oppression of Taiwan, and to handle cross-strait relations in a pragmatic way.

  Beijing should assume responsibility in promoting positive interactions between the two sides of the Strait, and resolve differences through communication and dialogue, the council said.
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