China-Taiwan
Taiwan foresees more Chinese coercion, intimidation during Xi Jinping's new term
Taipei: A senior Taiwanese minister feels that China might increase its coercion and intimidation to achieve its goal of bringing the island under Beijing's control once President Xi Jinping assumes the third term in office.
Beijing's once-in-five years leadership reshuffle is set for the Communist Party of China congress that starts Oct 16, where Xi is poised to break with precedent and secure a third leadership term, reports The Straits Times.
Beijing has ramped up military and political pressure on Taipei, including staging war games near the island in August following the recent visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.
Speaking to lawmakers, Chiu Tai-san, the head of Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, told The Straits Times Xi will further consolidate his power at the party congress.
"Following that, the strength of the Chinese Communist Party will gradually expand, along with the continuous emphasis on promoting the reunification process in its development strategy," Chiu said.
"We believe that the Beijing authorities' work on Taiwan has entered the stage of strengthening the practice of the so-called 'anti-independence and promoting reunification'," he added.
What is the basis of China’s claim over Taiwan?
The basis of China’s claim over Taiwan dates back to 1945 when Japan lost its control over the island in 1945,post-World War Two.
The 1949 Chinese civil war led to communists taking control and Chiang Kai-shek the one who lost fled to Taiwan.
He ruled it for many decades. This is where China’s claim to Taiwan emanates.
The very fact that Chiang Kai-shek came to Taiwan and was not indigenous to the place is Taiwan’s argument against the claim.
The question is why is Taiwan important to China?
“A lot of things actually, which of course are related to Taiwan but not necessarily direct to Taiwan. It's more about (China's) relationship changing with United States – or we should say Western Countries, mainly United States and China. Taiwan then happens to become key player and main actor in this dynamics,” said Alice.
100 miles from the coast of China, Taiwan is an island that is located in the “first island chain,” this positioning makes it crucial to the US foreign policy.
US-Sino relations hinge on, ‘One China Policy,’ it acknowledges that, “there is only one Chinese Government." The US recognises its formal ties with China. With Taiwan the US shares independent strong “unofficial” relations.
The US on the other hand, has been toeing a safe line between China and Taiwan. It has strong economic ties with China while being wary of its expansionist ambitions at the same time it sells arms to Taiwan and shares strong economic ties with them as well.
China keeps flexing its muscles in the region by sending military aircraft from time to time, the last being in 2021.
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