China’s Ministry of National Defense on Thursday accused Taiwan’s government of deliberately “hyping up” a military threat from China for electoral gain ahead of elections in just over two weeks, but again sent warplanes into the Taiwan Strait.
As the Jan. 13 elections draw near, Taiwan has reported Chinese fighter jets and warships around the nation, as well as balloons crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, although the military says they are most likely for weather monitoring purposes.
Speaking at a monthly news conference in Beijing, ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said that Taiwan’s government was to blame for the tensions.
Photo: Emily Wang Fujiyama, AP
“The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are deliberately hyping up the so-called ‘military threat from the mainland’ and exaggerating tensions,” Wu said.
“This is entirely to seek electoral gain,” he added, accusing Taiwan of using a “familiar electoral playbook to stoke confrontation and manipulate the election.”
Shortly after Wu spoke, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Taipei reported further Chinese military activities in the Strait, saying it had detected 12 military aircraft crossing the median line or flying close to it on Thursday afternoon.
It said the aircraft, including J-11 and Su-30 jets, entered airspace to the north, center and southwest of Taiwan, and “cooperated with communist ships to carry out joint combat readiness patrols.”
Wu reiterated that China did not recognize the median line.
“Taiwan is a part of China. The ‘median line’ absolutely does not exist,” he said.
The MND this week said it was not seeing any signs of large-scale Chinese military activity before the elections, but was keeping a close watch on China.
Wu said China’s People’s Liberation Army was well aware of Taiwan’s military movements.
“We will, as always, take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.
From the start of this month, Taiwan has reported a spate of Chinese balloons drifting over the Taiwan Strait, saying they were probably monitoring weather conditions.
Wu declined to comment on the balloons.
China has also been angered by US arms sales to Taiwan.
“We firmly oppose any country having official and military contact with Taiwan in any form,” Wu added. “The US is manipulating the Taiwan question in various forms, which is a very dangerous gamble.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS