Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Beijing twists history to its own end

Gerritvan der Wees

The People’s Republic of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday published a white paper titled The Taiwan Question and China’s Reunification in the New Era.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council responded strongly to a number of important fallacies in this paper, as it seriously distorts history.

As “evidence” that Taiwan “belonged to China since ancient times,” it describes how the Sui Dynasty sent three expeditions east. Whether “east” was “Taiwan” is not clear, as they discuss “Liu Qiu,” which might refer to Okinawa.

Hsia’s China trip undermines Taiwan

Taipei Times Editorials

Amid the worst cross-strait security crisis in 20 years, the Chinese State Council on Wednesday released a white paper titled The Taiwan Question and China’s Reunification in the New Era, an update to Taiwan white papers issued in 1993 and 2000.

The new white paper says that Taiwan is part of China and Beijing “will not renounce the use of force” to achieve unification, hailing the “one country, two systems” framework as the most inclusive solution to the situation, but not mentioning the so-called “1992 consensus.”

Nothing ‘unfortunate’ about visit

Chris van Laak

“We support democratic Taiwan, but a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is of no benefit to the nation.”

That was the subtext of some op-eds published in the past few days in liberal-leaning Western newspapers and magazines.

The visit was “unfortunate,” Shelley Rigger, a political scientist at Davidson College, said in a New Yorker interview published on Thursday last week, while Pulitzer prize-winning author Thomas Friedman in a New York Times piece published on Monday last week, before Pelosi had even arrived in Taiwan, found her planned trip “utterly reckless.”

KMT vice chair’s China trip draws fire

Taipei Times

Chinese Nationalist Party Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia yesterday speaks to reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo: CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan.

Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials.

Taiwanese are not easily rattled

Taipei Times Editorial

Almost as soon as the plane carrying a US delegation led by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi took off from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) on Thursday, Beijing announced four days of live-fire military drills around Taiwan. China unilaterally cordoned off six maritime exclusion zones around Taiwan proper to simulate a blockade of the nation, fired 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles and conducted coordinated maneuvers using naval vessels and aircraft.

Although the drills were originally to end on Sunday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command issued a statement through Chinese state media that the exercises would continue, and provided no end date.

Pelosi visit exposes Beijing’s great lie

Chen Ching-kuen 陳慶坤

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week represented a milestone in Taiwan-US relations, but also pricked the bubble of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) big lie that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.

During a speech delivered at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Wednesday, Pelosi said: “Forty-two years ago, America made a bedrock promise to always stand with Taiwan,” referring to the US’ Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

On the eve of her visit to Taiwan, Pelosi published an article in the Washington Post in which she stated that “America must stand by Taiwan.”

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