By calling for conquest, Xi has made an enemy of the Taiwan’s tribes, which rightfully say their ancestors inhabited the island long before the dawn of the Chinese era.
After the election of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in January, political leaders from Beijing to Washington all asserted he’d lean toward what they called “Taiwan’s independence.” And for this presupposed tendency, the Chinese Communist Party and state-controlled media labeled Lai a “destroyer of peace,” vowing that the little island nation’s “reunification” with China was looming.
As a sort of preemptive measure, after Lai’s victory, U.S.-president Joe Biden said that Washington wouldn’t support any sort of declaration of independence, highlighting that his administration seeks to maintain the status quo between the two nations. Biden thereby reiterated the U.S.’s One-China Policy, which “acknowledges” Beijing’s assertion that Taiwan is a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without agreeing to this claim.
What in the world makes anybody think China would care what the indigenous tribes say? Their outstanding track record of:
- annexation of Tibet
- obeying the letter and spirit of the Hong Kong handover
- genocide of the Uyghurs
- ongoing conflict with every SEA nation over the 9 dash line
- All of the above
This article doesn’t make much sense to me, and the parts that do make sense don’t seem very realistic.
By calling for conquest,
Xi has not called for the “conquest” of Taiwan, has he? Using that word would be a massive escalation that would be all over the news. I’m pretty sure “reunified” is the word they use.
Xi has made an enemy of the Taiwan’s tribes
Taiwan’s indigenous population overwhelmingly support the KMT, for complex historical reasons. The KMT want closer ties with Beijing and are certainly favoured by Xi himself. I don’t think it’s fair to say that “Taiwan’s tribes” are an enemy of Xi.
“The only possibility for Taiwan to truly achieve independence from China’s grasp is, in theory, only to first allow the Indigenous tribes of Taiwan to establish an independent nation named ‘Formosa,’” said Chuan-ju Cheng, an associate professor of Indigenous studies at the Taipei University of Education … After that, “the Han people of Taiwan could join the new state,”
I don’t see what incentive China has to buy this. Taiwan’s too important for them to give up just because of a rebrand. And I can’t see Taiwan’s current leaders giving away power to a community that’s less than 3% of the population - however just the cause may be. Also, that’s not even the correct name of the university. It’s National Taipei University of Education - I studied Mandarin there for a semester.
A lot of Americans really want China to go to war with Taiwan.
