U.S. and Chinese military officials met this week to discuss the fate of Taiwan, days before the sovereign island nation's presidential election, which Chinese dictator Xi Jinping characterized as a choice between war and peace.
candidate
As of January 3, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate William Lai Seitoku was leading the polls with 36% of the vote.
according to The victory for Lai, a former mayor of the southern city of Tainan, who was considered a “complete troublemaker” by China's communist regime, prompted China to issue further threats and take further steps to isolate Taiwan, according to The Economist. There is a high possibility that this will be taken.
Lai has served as deputy president to outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen. During his tenure, Tsai angered China by refusing to appease the communists by publicly claiming that Taiwan belonged to the Chinese government.
Mr. Lai, with whom China refuses to engage in dialogue, appears intent on continuing to assert Taiwan's independence from the mainland.he has
I felt stressed He asserted the island nation's autonomy, and at a debate in December emphasized that the communist regime was a “threat to Taiwan and the international community.”
The economist said that despite Lai's independent views, Lai's victory is far from certain because his party has problems with young voters who see the Democratic Progressive Party as establishment. did.
Lai's top opponent, with 31%, is Hou Youyi, leader of the conservative Kuomintang Party. Mr. Hou is a former police officer and the mayor of New Taipei City.
reportedly He rejected the concept of a sovereign island nation independent of China and the “one country, two systems” model favored by Beijing.
Ke Wen-ji of the Taiwan People's Party was in third place with 24% of the vote. Koh, a former surgeon, served as the mayor of the capital Taipei until 2022, after which he was instrumental in founding the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Mr. Ke supports a possible coalition with the Kuomintang and appears keen to keep the situation intact regarding China. However, during the presidential debate he emphasized that “Taiwan needs independence.”
stakes
In his New Year's address, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping reiterated his threat: “China must be unified, and all Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait must be bound by a common sense of purpose.”
report Associated Press.
Mr. Xi also suggested that Taiwan's presidential election amounts to a choice between war and peace.
Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the China Taiwan Affairs Office, revealed the regime's bias, calling Lai a “destroyer of peace” and accusing him of being “the instigator of a potentially dangerous war in the Taiwan Strait.” .
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska)
take the lead This week, a bipartisan Senate resolution was introduced praising Taiwan's democracy and supporting self-defense. Said Fox News over the weekend reported that Taiwan's eighth presidential election constitutes a “major vulnerability to the premise of Xi Jinping's dictatorship.”
“Xi Jinping is afraid of his own people, and he's afraid that people on the mainland will look across the Taiwan Strait and say, 'Wait a minute, why can't we do that?'” Sullivan said. “Each of these political parties, including the Kuomintang, has begun to move away from any policy of appeasement toward Beijing.Recent polls show that nearly two-thirds of Taiwanese consider themselves exclusively Taiwanese. These are all things that I feel.''I think Xi Jinping realizes that he is very vulnerable.''
military discussion
U.S. and Chinese military officials met in Washington this week. Although the talks were described as administrative in nature, policy concerns were still raised.
according to Michael S. Chase, the assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, told the Pentagon that he “stressed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the military to prevent competition from escalating into conflict.” ”.
“We reaffirmed that the United States will continue to fly, navigate, and operate safely and responsibly as international law allows,” Chase said, referring to the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese delegation said, “China will not make any concessions or compromises on the Taiwan issue.We urge the US side to abide by the one-China principle, abide by related commitments, stop arming Taiwan, and ensure Taiwan's independence.'' “I requested that they not support it.''
according to to the Chinese Ministry of Defense.
Although the United States does not have a formal defense treaty with Taiwan, it nevertheless provides military equipment to Taiwan.
Taiwan relations lawThis provision requires the United States to “provide to Taiwan defense articles and defense services in the quantities necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain an adequate self-defense capability” and to “defend the United States' ability to resist any measures.” admits that it will be maintained. Force or other forms of coercion that may endanger the safety of Taiwan's people or its social or economic system. ”
The Chinese delegation, led by Major General Song Yanchao, also called on the United States to “reduce its military presence and provocations in the South China Sea, and stop supporting provocative acts by certain countries.”
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