Beijing is aiming for “peaceful unification by coercion” by instilling fear of military action among Taiwanese, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said on Monday.
Tsai was speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) annual “two sessions,” which conclude on Monday, and the upcoming US presidential election.
Much attention was given to the omission of the word “peaceful” when describing China’s designs on unification with Taiwan from the government work report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) on Tuesday last week.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
At later meetings, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) reinserted “peaceful” into their discussions of Taiwan.
However, Tsai told legislators that the discussion does not accurately reflect CCP tactics toward Taiwan.
Beijing is seeking “peaceful unification by coercion” by using a variety of measures — including military, economic, political, information and cognitive warfare — to make Taiwanese fear the potential of military action, Tsai said.
Although the purpose is to intimidate, the tactics still follow the thread of “peaceful unification,” he said.
In the face of complex challenges, the bureau works with defense and national security units as well as international partners to closely watch Chinese military plans, he added.
“At the moment, we have not identified any intelligence to indicate that tensions in the Taiwan Strait will continue to rise,” he said.
Under Xi, the “two sessions” have become mainly ceremonial, serving as policy declaration, but lacking substantive action, Tsai said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights