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
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