European and US officials condemned comments from Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野), after he on Wednesday said that Taiwanese would be “re-educated” after any annexation by China.
In an interview on French television, Lu accused the Democratic Progressive Party of “extremist” propaganda and turning Taiwanese against “reunification” with China.
“We will re-educate. I’m sure that the Taiwanese population will again become favorable of the reunification and will become patriots again,” Lu told BFM TV.
Photo: Screengrab from the BFM TV Web site
The term “re-education” has been used to describe Chinese authorities’ treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.
European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defense Chairwoman Nathalie Loiseau was among the Western officials who on Thursday criticized Lu’s remarks on Twitter.
“To those who are indignant at [US House of Representatives Speaker] Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, I advise to reserve their indignation for the scandalous remarks of the Chinese ambassador, who promises the reunification of Taiwan against the will of its inhabitants and then their ‘re-education,’” she wrote. “This is where the scandal lies.”
Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this week, with China launching live-fire drills in retaliation.
“Chinese threats to Taiwan, their destruction of democracy in Hong Kong & genocide of the Uyghurs show the need for a united & strong EU and alliance with US,” European lawmaker Guy Verhofstadt wrote.
“Genocide, reeducation, gulags, all being normalized for a new age of totalitarian evil,” wrote Paul Massaro, a Helsinki-based senior policy adviser to the US government.
In Washington, Center for Uyghur Studies director Abdul Hakim wrote that Lu’s remarks were reminiscent of Xinjiang concentration camps.
“Don’t believe us, now China is saying it will set up a concentration camp in Taiwan,” he wrote.
Reporters Without Borders president Pierre Haski said in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) that Lu’s statement was rooted in “the ideological differences between China and democracies.”
“I don’t think he [Lu] has a good grasp on the word ‘re-education.’ The impact of this word on Western audiences, it’s a very vicious, devastating statement,” he said.
Marc Julienne, director of the Centre for Asian Studies at the French Institute of International Relations, told CNA he felt that “re-education” was the worst word Lu could have used in front of a European audience, given Europe’s experiences during World War II.
“This remark not only showed the French what China’s intentions toward Taiwan are, but it also may further damage Lu’s image and that of China,” he said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS