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
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
RSS