China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, has given Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) a precedent-breaking third term in office. It also announced a national defense budget of 1.56 trillion yuan (US$226.6 billion) for this year, 7.2 percent more than last year. Taiwan should take this as reason to be more determined in the face of its authoritarian neighbor.
While calling for “peaceful unification,” China has increased its military budget by at least 6.6 percent every year for the past three decades, which has been perceived as being aimed at preparing for the annexation of Taiwan and domination of the Western Pacific amid a growing rivalry with the US.
