The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday denounced China for publicly threatening Taiwan at an international event, saying that it was tantamount to a declaration of war and flouted peaceful international relations.
The council made the remarks after Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) earlier in the day said that China would “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwanese independence.
In a fiery address to the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore yesterday, Wei said that Beijing would have “no choice” but to fight if attempts are made to “separate” Taiwan from China.
Photo: CNA
“We will fight at all cost, and we will fight to the very end,” he told the summit, which brings together defense ministers from Asia and elsewhere.
“No one should ever underestimate the resolve and ability of the Chinese armed forces to safeguard its territorial integrity,” he said.
“Those who pursue Taiwanese independence in an attempt to split China will definitely come to no good end,” he added.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The MAC said in a statement that Wei’s remarks “proved that Beijing is the source of the regional disturbance.”
The council said it is “a fact” that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait do not belong to each other, and that Taiwan has never been a part of China.
China has been ignoring Taiwan and other countries’ opposition to its aggressive actions and false claims, and trying to unify with Taiwan by force, the MAC said, adding that China would suffer the consequences of meddling with Taiwan’s international support.
Separately yesterday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that Taiwan does not want to close the door on relations with China and is willing to engage in the spirit of goodwill, but on an equal basis and without political preconditions.
Speaking to reporters after China on Friday announced a ban on imports of Taiwanese grouper fish on safety grounds, a move Taipei called politically motivated, Su said Taiwan has always shown goodwill toward China.
“As long as there is equality, reciprocity and no political preconditions, we are willing to engage in goodwill with China,” he said, reiterating a position that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has repeatedly made in public.
“As for China’s harassment of Taiwan with military aircraft, warships, unreasonable suppression and political actions, the one being most unreasonable is China,” Su added. “Taiwan does not want to close the door to China. It is China that has used various means to oppress and treat Taiwan unreasonably.”
Beijing has refused to speak to Tsai since she was elected in 2016, viewing her as a separatist who has refused to accept that China and Taiwan are part of “one China.”
Tsai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, and while they want peace with China, they would defend themselves if attacked.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday wrote on Twitter: “#Beijing banned #Taiwan #FreedomPineapple imports, now it’s targeting our groupers. That’s what the communists do: They buy & pirate tech before weaponizing. Free & fair trade with #China is a fail. We’re just putting more ammunition in their stockpile.”
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS