Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) blasted Beijing for deliberately upsetting the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait by using cognitive warfare that is increasingly difficult to recognize, in an exclusive interview with French newspaper Le Monde.
In the interview with Hong Kong correspondent Florence de Changy published on Tuesday, Wu reiterated Taiwan’s stance of being “moderate and responsible” regarding cross-strait affairs, a standing policy during President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration.
Wu said Beijing is attempting to influence the presidential and legislative elections next week by trying to convey them as a choice between war and an economic slowdown if the DPP wins, and peace and prosperity if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) wins.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Beijing’s methods of influencing Taiwanese are becoming increasingly difficult to perceive, he said.
While China’s military threat toward Taiwan is growing and its attempts to spread disinformation, infiltrate the country and tactics of weaponizing the economy all contribute to a “grim” situation in the Taiwan Strait, analyses from intelligence agencies in Taiwan, the US and other countries show that, “war [with China] is not imminent, but neither is it inevitable,” Wu said.
However, Wu said that the “status quo” is being changed, he said.
“The ‘status quo’ is based on a tacit agreement between Taiwan and China, but China no longer wishes to abide by such agreements — China’s fighter jets are constantly crossing the median line, while its naval ships are inching ever closer to Taiwan in more frequent and larger military exercises ... this is unprecedented,” he said.
Wu also cited Beijings attempts to distort UN Resolution 2758 to convince others that Taiwan is legally a part of China as part of its efforts to change the “status quo.”
UN Resolution 2758 was passed by the UN General Assembly in 1971. It states that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China to the UN. However, it does not touch on the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Wu also said that Taiwan “welcomed” the French government’s military programming law (LPM) for 2024-2030, which states that France would defend freedom of navigation in the region — including in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait — according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Speaking about Taiwan-US relations, he said that the “status quo” would not have existed without the US’ strong support over the years.
China is attempting to sow doubt in the minds of the Taiwanese, using the Russia-Ukraine war to insinuate that the US’ reluctance to be directly involved is a reflection of the US’ attitude toward Taiwan, Wu said.
However, it is clear that “China threatens Taiwan, and the US supports Taiwan,” he said.
Wu ended the interview by saying: “It is our responsibility to defend Taiwan. No nation is obligated to help us.”
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
RSS