The average monthly number of Chinese military aircraft sorties around Taiwan in the first quarter of this year fell by more than half compared with the early days of President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration, although Beijing continues its frontline military deployments, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
China does not have a set timeline or plan to invade Taiwan by next year, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made it clear that annexing the nation is crucial to achieving its goal of “national rejuvenation” by 2049, the MAC said in its quarterly report on China, citing US intelligence.
Despite the drop in the frequency of sorties from January to March, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has maintained active mobile deployments along the Taiwan Strait, the report said, adding that Washington and Beijing spent the first quarter “accumulating bargaining chips” ahead of a meeting between their leaders.
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On foreign affairs, China has continued to focus on the situation in the Middle East, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of normal navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the MAC said.
Regarding cross-strait relations, Beijing is maintaining its two-pronged strategy of “punishing separatists” while “integrating Taiwan,” the report said.
For example, to “punish separatists,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) threatened to investigate and prosecute Minister of the Interior Liu Shih-fang’s (劉世芳) relative Yen Wen-chun (顏文群), who works as an executive in China and was found to have donated to the Democratic Progressive Party, it said.
On the “integration” front, China’s Fujian Province announced 17 “milestone achievements” in building a cross-strait integrated development demonstration zone, while Xiamen is offering “service packages” to encourage Taiwanese who have never visited China to travel to the city, the report said.
TAO Director Song Tao (宋濤) during a joint think tank forum between the CCP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in February also proposed ways to deepen cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, it said, adding that the forum concluded with the release of a 15-point “common opinion” document.
The following day, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) met with the KMT delegation and said the forum conformed to the shared desire across the Taiwan Strait for “peace, development, exchanges and cooperation,” the report said.
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