Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

On May 27, 2022, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) — still a mayoral candidate at the time — suggested three prerequisites for the continuation of the Shanghai-Taipei Twin City Forum: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could no longer harass Taiwan, must show goodwill toward the nation, and must acknowledge that Taiwan and China are equals.

Just two-and-a-half years later, these commitments have been abandoned completely. This has led to a loss of trust in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) principles and ability to handle cross-strait relations.

The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday.

Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week.

Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it has yet to formally announce any planned military drills.