In the face of a Chinese “final assault,” Taiwan is looking for tangible Australian support for Taiwanese participation in international affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in an interview with the Sydney-based Australian Financial Review.
Taiwan urges Australia to stand together with Taiwan to fight Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) expansionism in the democratic world, Wu said in the interview published yesterday.
Wu was interviewed by journalist Michael Smith via videoconference on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
While the threat of a Chinese invasion is “not imminent,” a military confrontation with China is a genuine threat that Canberra understands, Wu said.
“China is engaged in isolating Taiwan from the international arena, trying to engage in disinformation ... or hybrid warfare, and intensifying its military threat against Taiwan. [It] seems to be preparing for a final assault against Taiwan,” Wu said.
“I don’t want to say that a war in between Taiwan and China is imminent,” but the Taiwanese government needs to be prepared for it, he said, adding that it is not only the Ministry of National Defense, but the whole government that is preparing for a possible military assault by China.
Taiwanese and Australians both believe in freedom, democracy and human rights, Wu said, adding that he believed that Australians would consider speaking out for Taiwan a good thing.
Taiwan does not want to see China’s definition of order, which is based on aggressive expansionism and authoritarianism, replicated in Taiwan, Wu said.
He urged democratic countries that share the same values to form an alliance to resist Chinese authoritarianism.
Wu called on Canberra to strengthen Taiwan-Australia economic ties and to restart talks for a free-trade agreement, adding that it was possible for Taiwan to apply and join the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year.
Speaking on the issue of a potential Taiwan-Australia military collaboration, Wu said that the issue might be a little overblown.
Taiwan is making preparations for the eventuality of a Chinese invasion, and it is glad to hear that the tough responses of the US, Japan and Australia to Chinese expansionism, he said.
In its most recent foreign affairs and national defense talks with Japan on March 16, the US affirmed the importance of stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has also increased its hawkish rhetoric against China.
Wu sidestepped the question of whether high-level Taiwanese officials were in dialogue with Morrison or Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne, only saying that the Taiwanese government has been in contact with “some Australian government officials.”
Asked if President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would talk with Morrison, Wu said that if there is such a plan, it would be kept low-profile.
Taiwan respects the decisions that the Australian government make in its best national interests, he added.
What Taiwan really needs from Australia is its tangible support for Taiwan’s participation in the international community, Wu said.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS