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.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was