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World #3: China warns Taiwan independence ‘means war’ as US pledges support
A soldier holds a Taiwan national flag during a military exercise, Jan. 19, 2021, in northern Taiwan.
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The warning comes days after China stepped up its military activities and flew warplanes near the island.
It also comes after President Joe Biden, following along with the Trump admistration’s position on Taiwan, reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the democratic island nation, and set out his stance in Asia.
The US has called China’s latest warning “unfortunate,” adding that tensions did not need to lead to “anything like confrontation.”
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The stark warning comes as China has increased tensions with Taiwan by stepping up military activities and declaring that independence means war last week.
Taiwan has been claimed by China as one of its territories, with Beijing having deployed fighter jets and bombers into the island s airspace as recently as the weekend.
China believes Taiwan s democratically-elected government is moving the island towards a formal declaration of independence, but Taiwan s president Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that the island is already an independent nation.
Despite this, China has ramped up military drills near the island in recent weeks, including deploying 15 fighter jets into Taiwan airspace twice in two days last month.
English By Ralph Jennings Share on Facebook Print this page
JINCHENG TOWNSHIP, KINMEN COUNTY, TAIWAN - Chinese civil aviation authorities are working on a new civilian airport on Dadeng Island, less than 10 kilometers from the Taiwanese-held island of Kinmen, and Chinese ships can be spotted in sea tracts uncomfortably close to Taiwan’s turf, dredging for gravel.
That’s what Shih Chao-min, chairman of Kinmen county’s ruling Nationalist Party, has observed for the past few years.
Taiwan’s central government has noticed too. It says the Chinese ships are illegally looking for gravel in waters close to Taiwanese land. A lot turn up near Kinmen and Matsu, another outlying archipelago, because of their proximity to China.
EDITORIAL: No lenience on Chinese investment
Fubon Financial Holding Co on Friday last week said it would extend its tender offer for Jih Sun Financial Holding Co by 50 days until March 23, as the company’s hostile takeover of its smaller rival has not yet gained approval from the Fair Trade Commission. The initial offer of NT$13 per share, announced on Dec. 18 last year, surprised the domestic financial sector, and was on Jan. 5 criticized by Jih Sun as too low.
Fubon’s bid has also raised questions from lawmakers and market watchers as to whether one of Jih Sun’s major shareholders has links to a Chinese investment entity, and if Fubon aims to help the rumored Chinese investor dispose of his stake in Jih Sun for cash. Government agencies, including the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), the Investment Commission and the Mainland Affairs Council, have reportedly launched probes into whether Chinese investors are involved.