Taiwan Urges China’s Promise To “Never Seek Hegemony”

On Saturday, Taiwan’s leader appealed to her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. She appealed to deescalate military tensions and live up to his promise to “never seek hegemony”. This came after months of Beijing ramping up fighter jet incursions.

What leaders have to say?

President Tsai Ing-wen said in a speech on Taiwan’s national day. She stated that the international community was becoming concerned about the “expanding hegemony” of China. Beijing views democratic, self-ruling Taiwan as its own territory. They have never renounced the use of force to bring it back into fold. But Tsai referenced a recent speech by Xi to the United Nations that she said gave the Taiwanese some hope.

This is what she said: “I am also aware that the leader across the Strait (Xi) has publicly stated in a video message to the United Nations General Assembly that China will never seek hegemony, expansion, or a sphere of influence … we hope this is the beginning of genuine change.”

She then continued to say: “We are committed to upholding cross-strait stability, but this is not something Taiwan can shoulder alone — it is the joint responsibility of both sides” she added,

Beijing’s bellicose stance towards Taiwan has increased dramatically under Xi. He has described the island’s unification with the mainland as inevitable. It is also a response to the election of Tsai in 2016 and again earlier this year.

Tsai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), views Taiwan as a sovereign country. She rejects the idea that the island is part of one China.

Consequences Towards Taiwan

As a result, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) accused Tsai of extending confrontational thinking and antagonism to promote independence in her speech. This news was according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua quoted TAO spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian saying this: “We urge the DPP authority to stop any provocative word and action promoting independence and not to go further down the wrong road“.

The DPP would only swallow its own evil fruits to collude with Western countries. Zhu warned.

More Heat!

Washington’s increased outreach to Taipei under President Donald Trump has become yet another flashpoint with Beijing as US-China relations plunge to historic lows. China’s military has piled on pressure even more than usual this year. They send its warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense zone at unprecedented frequency. Sometimes they also crossed the so-called “median line” of the Taiwan Strait.

It conducted exercises near the Taiwan Strait when a senior American diplomat was visiting the island last month. This was shortly after health Chief Alex Azar made the highest-level US visit to Taipei. The visit took place since 1979 when Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

China & Taiwan In Their Defense

A Chinese foreign ministry official has even said there was no such thing as the median line as “Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory”. This, as a result, sparked condemnations from Taipei.

On Saturday 10 October 2020, Chinese jets entered Taiwan’s air defense zone. This was for the eighth time this month and the fifth straight day this week. The news was according to Taipei’s defense ministry. Tsai pledged that Taiwan will not act rashly and will work to lower the risk of military conflict.

This is what she said: “As long as the Beijing authorities are willing to resolve antagonisms and improve cross-strait relations… we are willing to work together to facilitate meaningful dialogue“