Taiwan is making every effort to prevent war in the face of China’s hybrid coercion tactics and military threat, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in an interview with German public television conglomerate ARD on the show Weltspiegel that aired yesterday.
Taiwan is not seeking provocation or intending to disrupt international order, but “must possess the capacity for self-defense,” Hsiao said, according to a news release issued by the Presidential Office today.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Taiwan is closely watching not only the increasing scope and frequency of China’s military exercises around Taiwan, but Beijing’s hybrid and cognitive warfare tactics such as manipulating public opinion, creating economic dependence and staging political infiltration to influence Taiwanese society, she said.
Taiwan has to remain flexible and pragmatic under difficult circumstances, and maintain its self-defense capabilities, she added.
Beijing must be constantly reminded that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are a shared global interest and any threat to Taiwan would disrupt international trade and supply chains, she said.
The 20-minute-long episode, named “Taiwan — Living under Threat,” focused on how Taiwan survives under China’s expanding threat, the important role that Europe plays in Indo-Pacific peace and stability, and related Taiwan’s situation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a conflict familiar to European audiences.
Weltspiegel has been running a series of episodes related to Taiwan, having interviewed fishers off of Taiwan’s Lienchiang County, visited Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ Pride Parade and explored China’s military expansion across the South China Sea and Pacific island nations.
ARD first asked Hsiao about her “cat warrior” analogy for Taiwan.
Taiwan is like a cat — it can be cute and friendly, but if backed against a wall, it will attack, she said.
Taiwanese love peace and helping others, hoping to be a positive force in the world, and even although it has not been treated fairly by the international community, Taiwan still hopes to make real contributions to the world, she said.
The Taiwanese people remain steadfast in defending their freedom and way of life, she said.
In response to China’s claim that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government is “promoting separatism” and causing cross-strait tension, Hsiao said that if regional peace and stability are undermined, the international community would know that Beijing is the root of the problem.
Asked if Taiwan is a part of China, Hsiao said: “Taiwan, or the Republic of China as stated in our Constitution, has always existed."
Taiwan’s government is chosen through democratic elections, so Taiwan’s sovereignty “belongs to the Taiwanese people,” she added.
However, Taiwan is willing to engage in dialogue with Beijing, provided it is based on mutual respect and equality, as maintaining the "status quo" across the Taiwan Strait is in the shared interests of both sides, she said.
Speaking about China’s economic leverage, Hsiao said that since China’s economic reform, many Taiwanese companies sought opportunities through investment and trade, although Beijing has increasingly politicized economic relations and sought to create trade dependence.
Taiwan respects free trade and market principles, but does not accept threats or coercion as part of economic relations, she said, adding that many companies have since diversified their global strategies.
Hsiao then advised German businesses to “not put all their eggs in one basket.”
The interviewer then compared the Taiwan Strait to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, asking how it would affect Taiwan if Russia were to win the war.
“There are no winners in war,” she said.
History has shown that aggression can never achieve true victory and democracies must stand united against aggression to defend their hard-won freedoms, she added.
Finally, Hsiao thanked Germany for its repeated support of Taiwan and regional peace in international forums.
As Taiwan’s most important trading partner in Europe, Germany and Taiwan have close cooperation in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries, and as artificial intelligence continues to develop, that partnership is expected to deepen, she said.
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