Taiwan must be prepared to defend itself, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday after documents reportedly showed that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had considered invading the nation in the fall.
In a post on Facebook dated Thursday last week, exiled Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin, who founded the France-based human rights group Gulagu Net, referenced the documents, which are purportedly leaked Russian intelligence.
“Xi Jinping was at least considering taking over Taiwan in the fall — he needs his own little victory to get re-elected for a third term — there the struggle within the elite is colossal,” Osechkin wrote, citing the documents.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“Now, after the Ukrainian events, this window of opportunity has been closed to him, which gives the United States the opportunity to both blackmail Xi and negotiate with its competitors on favorable terms,” he wrote, quoting what the documents showed was an analyst writing for the Russian Federal Security Service.
Wu told reporters: “I cannot ascertain [the documents’] veracity, but we must be prepared to defend ourselves regardless of if or when China intends to attack.”
Separately, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) declined to comment on the matter, saying only that the military continues to monitor Chinese actions closely and is preparing as necessary to defend national security.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) asked Wu whether the government has made plans to defend Taiwan without direct US military support, as a recent poll suggested that many Taiwanese are skeptical about Washington’s commitment.
A poll conducted by the Taiwan Center for International Strategic Studies on Tuesday showed that 47 percent of respondents do not believe that the US is sincere in its promises to assist Taiwan with its defense.
Wu said that the government’s consistent policy is for Taiwan to defend itself and that it is poised to announce new arms deals with the US.
Washington believes that giving Taiwan weapons is necessary for self-defense as a part of its legal obligations under its Taiwan Relations Act, he said.
Moreover, it has engaged Taiwan in discussions on security arrangements and is deploying forces to exclude threats from the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
Later yesterday, Shih said that the defense ministry would brief the public after the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency officially notifies the US Congress of any new arms sales to Taiwan.
In related news, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her capacity as Democratic Progressive Party chairperson told the party’s Central Standing Committee that her administration would press on with the development of dual-use technologies to bolster the armed forces and Taiwan’s defense industry.
The government is committed to developing and improving the nation’s capability to efficiently mobilize civilian resources during war, including taking stock of the country’s food, fuel and industrial capabilities, Tsai said.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS