Frances Martel – October 28, 2021
China’s government-run media have responded to President Tsai Ing-wen’s revelation of an American military presence in Taiwan explosively, warning on Thursday that those troops could “trigger a war.”
An alleged political “expert” quoted in the state propaganda outlet Global Times urged the Communist Party to attack both Taiwan and the United States, making moves “like ‘slamming nails into the hands of the U.S. and Taiwan to make them hurt.’”
The Global Times itself, in an editorial, described democratically elected Taiwanese officials as “quenching their thirst with poison” by relying on American support.
Taiwan is a sovereign nation and free society run through a democratic system. China falsely claims Taiwan as a “province” despite Beijing historically never having control over the island. The Communist Party forces all countries, including the United States, seeking diplomatic relations with Taiwan to disavow Taiwan’s sovereignty. Washington has traditionally supported Taiwan by allowing it “representative offices” it cannot refer to as consulates or embassies on U.S. soil, as well as selling weapons to the Taiwanese military.
Last week, President Joe Biden said America would become involved militarily in any Taiwan-China clash, prompting the White House to rapidly issue a statement walking back his claim.
Tsai, who became Taiwan’s first president on a wave of anti-communist sentiment, told CNN in an interview published Wednesday that American forces are present on the island. She asserted that these troops were “not as many as people thought.” America does not have any official military presence in Taiwan.
“We have a wide range of cooperation with the US aiming at increasing our defense capability,” she continued.