Source: Global Times
[Global Times Special Correspondent Zhang Tianxing] Global Times Reporter Zhang Xiaoya And Zhao Youping] In keeping up with the rhythm of playing the "Taiwan card" with the US Government, the DPP authorities have made continuous small moves to "seek independence." On 29 July, Qiu Taisan, chairman of the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council, continued to sell the "two-state theory," claiming that "the non-subordination of the two sides of the strait" is an "indisputable fact, and attacking and slandering the mainland. Taiwan's "foreign minister" Wu Chao-sup was exposed to the itinerary of a visit to Europe, secretly going to Brussels, where the EU headquarters is located, to step up collusion with external forces. In an interview with CNN a few days ago, Tsai Ing-wen claimed that Taiwan has repeatedly expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue with the mainland, which is the best way to avoid misunderstanding, miscalculation, and misjudgment when handling cross-strait relations. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, bluntly rebuked on the 29th that "this kind of deception is extremely inferior and can be put to rest!" For Tsai Ing-wen to confirm the presence of US troops in Taiwan, the US media and Taiwan media broke out more details. Public opinion on the island asked why Tsai Ing-wen said such a thing that made people break into a cold sweat, was it not to force the people to go to the battlefield?
Wu Zhao Xie data map. Pictured from Taiwan media
Taiwan media: Don't step on the red line
The Mainland Affairs Council entrusted the Association for Advanced Policy Studies to hold an international seminar on "Trends in Mainland Political, Economic, and Social Changes" in Taipei on 29 July, and invited former US Deputy Secretary of State and Visiting Professor of Syracuse University to participate in the video of American, French, and Japanese scholars. According to Taiwan media, Qiu Taisan explained the recent development of the situation and the policy position of the DPP authorities in the form of a speech at the opening ceremony.
Taiwan's Lianhe Pao reported that in the face of the increasingly dangerous cross-strait situation, Qiu Taisan called on the mainland to "stop fighting and turning into force", and revealed that the Tsai Ing-wen authorities are studying gradually relaxing the "control of exchanges" between the two sides after the epidemic eases, and are willing to take the lead in proposing interaction and communication between relevant departments of the two sides to ensure the well-being of the people. In his speech, he put forward the so-called "four-point appeal," claiming that the mainland must understand that the "four insistences" mentioned by Tsai Ing-wen are the mainstream public opinion and bottom line in Taiwan, and shouting that the mainland "abandons hostility at an early date" and "accumulates mutual trust."
Qiu Taisan gave a speech in English that day, which was described by Zhang Jing, a researcher at the China Strategic Society, as "on the wrong stage and expressing wrong feelings." Zhang Jing wrote on the 29th that Qiu Taisan made insincere suggestions on the wrong occasion, targeting the wrong targets, expressing wrong political accusations in the wrong language. Under the report of the Taiwan media, netizens left a message mockingly" Time is on the mainland side, who will pay attention to you?" "Shut yourself off, thinking people would be afraid." You know, you are committing suicide in slow motion with the whole island. This group of so-called democrats losers. ”
On 29 July, Ma Xiaoguang criticized Qiu Taisan's relevant remarks for continuing to sell the "two-state theory," continuing to confuse right and wrong, reversing black and white, in a vain attempt to deceive the people on the island, mislead the international community, and shirk the responsibility of the DPP authorities for plotting "independence" provocations. Ma Xiaoguang said: On the major issues of right and wrong in cross-strait relations, there are only "two adherences": upholding the one-China principle and the "1992 Consensus" and persisting in opposing "Taiwan independence." The so-called "four insistences" are naked insistence on selling the "two-state theory." Taiwan's Zhongshi Electronic News warned "Qiu Taisan not to step on the red line."
Qiu Taisan spread absurd remarks on the island, and Wu Zhaoxie stepped up his visits to Europe. The Taiwan authorities previously predicted that the itinerary would include Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland, but the US Political News Network broke the news on the 28th that Wu Zhaoxie secretly visited Brussels on the same day to hold talks with European parliamentarians on Asia-Pacific affairs. While an EU spokesman stressed that Mr. Wu's trip included only "informal talks," it was still a surprising step. On the 29th, he also called for cooperation against the mainland in the meeting of the "Transnational Inter-Parliamentary Union on China Policy" by video.
"Lianhe Bao" commented that exchanges between Taiwan and Europe seem to be heating up, but the Italian media recently suddenly revealed that The Vatican, Taiwan's only "country with diplomatic relations" in Europe, is discussing with the mainland the "severance of diplomatic relations" with Taiwan. Wu Zhaoxie's visit at this time was too coincidental, in addition to visiting friends, it also triggered the association of "Gubang". At a time when the "diplomatic war" between the two sides of the strait and the epidemic situation have not yet ended, Wu Zhaoxie's trip has a strong political flavor. If there is no breakthrough in "diplomacy," but it will attract a greater "counterattack" on the other side, I am afraid that the gain will not be worth the loss.
Tsai was asked to make it clear
In an interview published on CNN27, Tsai Ing-wen confirmed for the first time that U.S. troops were present in Taiwan, but she did not disclose the specific number. On the 28th local time, cnn quoted data from the US Department of Defense as saying that there were 10 US troops in Taiwan in 2018, which increased to 32 earlier this year. This news was quickly followed by the media on the island, and many Taiwan media reported it under the title of "the number of US military training in Taiwan was exposed." "32 people can defend Taiwan? Think you're the Avengers? "What's the use of 32 people?" Even 3200 people are not enough to plug the PLA teeth! Some netizens on the island sarcastically said.
"Lianhe Bao" on the 29th, citing "authoritative channels" to disclose another possibility. The newspaper's exclusive report said that the US military mentioned by Tsai Ing-wen came from the "special operations cooperation group" joint training plan implemented for the first time by Taiwan and the United States this year. The "special operations cooperation group" has about 10 people per team, has various military professional expertise, and the leader of the team is a major, and each echelon is stationed in Taiwan for half a year, and every six months is rotated. The first echelon of this year will be the US Marine Corps special operations personnel who went to Taiwan at the beginning of the year to teach the combat techniques of the Taiwan Marine Corps special combat assault boats, and arrived in Taiwan in the name of "expert exchanges." In the future, a small permanent unit of the US military in Taiwan will be formed.
In response to the waves caused by Tsai Ing-wen's wild remarks, taiwan media asked on the 29th whether "whether the exposure of Taiwan-US military exchanges meets the conditions for the mainland's armed reunification." Taiwan's "Defense Minister" Qiu Guozheng said that because of exchanges and training, the US military will not leave in a day, but will be stationed in Taiwan for a short time and will return after training. I don't know why the media wrote that, but "if it causes a misunderstanding, try to make the misunderstanding clear."
Kuomintang "legislator" Chen Yixin posted on Facebook on the 29th, bitterly criticizing Tsai Ing-wen for saying that "the number of US troops is not as large as everyone thinks", intending to create imagination space for the outside world. Doing so will only increase cross-strait military tensions, which is enough to "lose the country with one word," and it should be immediately clarified to the outside world. Former "legislator" Sun Daqian said that the question that Tsai Ing-wen should make clear is who caused the mainland's increased "military threat." Why is it that the United States is clearly the one who has made a deal with the mainland, but the United States can stay out of the matter and push the people of Taiwan into the battlefield? Why did the good days of "diplomatic truce" and "military truce" left over from the KMT's "ruling" period be thrown into a mess and become today's cloud of war? "When the chess pieces can't change the game by revealing the secret, can they still do it hard?" Zhongshi Electronic News asked.
"The greatest lesson of history is: Don't really think of America as a good person"
On the 29th, Sun Xiaoya, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), held her first press conference. Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that Sun Xiaoya did not comment on Tsai Ing-wen's remarks about the US military, but reiterated that the US support for Taiwan is rock solid. She said it was in the interest of the United States to interact with Taiwan. Sure enough, Sun Xiaoya talked about the anti-Lai pig referendum at the press conference, praised the delicious and safe AMERICAN pork, and encouraged Taiwanese consumers to taste it.
Kuomintang deputy secretary general Luo Zhiqiang said on the 29th that the confrontation between the United States and China is now the main theme of the US political arena, but the United States is "standing up for Taiwan" in order to resist China, not to "stand up for Taiwan." "Lianhe Bao" commented that the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the posture was hurried, the military prestige was damaged, and Biden's support rate fell sharply. Increasing the confrontation with the mainland is obviously a "good business" for the current Biden administration to increase support. Rendering the US military's "co-training" into "co-defense," the US side consumes cross-strait issues for political domestic demand.
According to the Central News Agency, Ian Marlowe, a reporter for Bloomberg, noted that some recent news headlines have made it seem that the two nuclear-armed powers of the United States and China are heading for conflict. But beneath the surface, he also sees multiple signs that Washington and Beijing are beginning to move away from the diplomatic vortex created by Trump's tariffs. These contradictory signals reflect the political realities facing both countries. That is, some degree of cooperation is needed to protect their respective economies, but not to appear weak. And Taiwan was pushed to the front line of the proxy war.
Lianhe Bao commented that former "Foreign Minister" Qian Fu was told that "the closest road to New York is via Beijing" when he pushed Taiwan to "return to the United Nations." In fact, that road was paved, and the two sides of the strait reached the "1992 Consensus," but this consensus was killed by a bunch of people. The biggest lesson of history is: Don't really think of the United States as a good person. Truman wanted to abandon Taiwan, and Nixon sold it for a good price. Thinking back to Nixon's original assurances, can you not be afraid that Biden will do the same now?
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