China might ratchet up pressure on Taiwan as the Chinese Communist Party’s centennial nears, national security officials warned, adding that Beijing’s hegemonic ambitions pose a threat to regional stability.
The National Security Bureau made the remarks in a report it sent to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee ahead of a session scheduled for tomorrow.
China is taking a hardline approach to sovereignty and human rights disputes, a line of action that would put more pressure on Taiwan and its neighbors, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Beijing’s attitude is seen in its expansionist moves in disputed waters of the Indo-Pacific, its obstinacy over human rights issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and the nationalist tune of its internal propaganda, it said.
China is “clashing fiercely” with the US in a bid to defeat its containment, but without giving up opportunities to collaborate on other issues, it said.
For example, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Thursday accepted US President Joe Biden’s invitation to attend a climate change teleconference, where he expressed support for global climate governance.
At the same time, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) is touring foreign countries with the aim of using personal diplomacy to undermine a US-built alliance, the bureau said.
Protracted US-China competition would engender unpredictability in the development of regional and global affairs, it said.
Confronted with this prospect, East Asian countries are likely to adopt “agenda-oriented diplomacy,” it said.
This means collaborating with the US or China issue-by-issue with an aim to reduce tensions, increase diplomatic flexibility and protect their own interests, it said.
The importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan’s strategic value are increasingly recognized by the US, Japan and other powerful countries, the bureau said.
As a result, Taiwan should enjoy greater international support, it said.
China’s passage of a law empowering coast guard ships to fire on foreign vessels has led to a global backlash, with Japan and ASEAN members increasing patrols in disputed waters, it added.
The US and European countries are conducting freedom of navigation operations, and India might be brought in as an ally, it said.
These actions have increased the risk of mishaps and conflict, and should be deemed a concerning factor to Taiwan’s security, the bureau said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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