On the 9th, four days before Taiwan’s presidential election to be held on the 13th, China launched a satellite and issued a military threat to Taiwan. There is a fierce battle within Taiwan’s political circles over Taiwanese authorities’ use of the term ‘missile’ to issue an air defense warning immediately after launch. The main opposition Kuomintang and the second opposition People’s Party claimed that “the ruling Democratic Progressive Party is trying to rally anti-China supporters by creating excessive security anxiety.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense issued a national air defense alert immediately after China’s satellite launch on this day. Alerts in Chinese and English were also sent via mobile phone text message. At that time, China threatened Taiwan by launching an astronomical observation satellite called ‘Einstein’ from Sichuan Province at around 3:04 p.m. Taiwan issued an alert 11 minutes later.
In an alert in Chinese, the authorities said, “A Chinese satellite has passed over southern skies, so be careful about your safety.” “If you find an unclear object, immediately report it to the police and fire department.” However, in English, it said, “Beware of missiles flying in Taiwan’s airspace.” When the word ‘missile’ was included, the fear of some citizens reached its peak. It is also unusual for the authorities to issue a national air defense alert.
Zhao Xiaokang, the pro-Beijing Kuomintang Party’s vice-presidential candidate, said, “The air defense warning issued ahead of the presidential election terrified voters. He protested, saying, “The Democratic Progressive Party is using national security for elections.” Ke Wen-je (柯文哲), the People’s Party’s presidential candidate, also criticized, saying, “The Democratic Progressive Party is turning China into a ‘pig’ every election.”
The pro-Beijing camp takes issue with the fact that Vice President Xiao Mei-qin of the Democratic Progressive Party has an American mother and has lived in the United States for a long time. The Democratic Progressive Party, which has a vice-presidential candidate fluent in English, and the authorities claim that there is no way they could not distinguish between easy English words such as ‘satellite’ and ‘missile’ and that “there is political intent in issuing the warning.”
As the controversy spread, the Ministry of National Defense apologized, saying it was an error to include ‘missile’ in the English warning. However, he claimed that issuing the warning was not an overreaction and that “we confirmed that the orbit of the satellite in question was different from the past.” This means there was no political intention.
The United States and China held defense policy coordination talks in Washington D.C. on the 8th and 9th. China completely suspended military communication between the two countries when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. Last November, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume communication, and a working-level meeting was held this time.
Although military communication was resumed, the two countries showed tense differences in their positions regarding Taiwan. John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council (NSC), was asked a question about Taiwan on the 9th and said, “(China) must respect Taiwan’s democracy.” On the other hand, Foreign Liaison Director Liu Jianchao, who is considered the next Chinese Foreign Minister, responded at a forum held in Washington on the same day, saying, “Taiwan is a core interest of China and a ‘red line’ that should not be crossed.” Wang Yi, a Politburo member and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, also added, “The determination to promote Taiwan’s unification is as firm as a ‘big rock.’”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.