Taiwan slams China for sending 'death threats' after US official's visit

Taiwan, on September 21, responded to China’s recent threats following the visit of a US State Department official, which Beijing had denounced. In a witty manner, Taiwan’s Presidential Office Spokesperson said, “How do you deal with a neighbour sending you death threats just for having dinner with friends visiting from afar? Asking for a friend”. 

The statement comes after China’s state-controlled media outlet, Global Times, published an editorial piece warning military action against the self-governing island if it tries to move forward with any political decision on Taiwan’s independence. While Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen pledged deeper ties with the US, China said that the island is clearly playing with fire. “If any act of her provocation violates the Anti-Secession Law of China, a war will be set off and Tsai will be wiped out,” Global Times wrote. 

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The Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece wrote that China has gained experience in attacking Taiwan and its key military systems by conducting a series of exercises near the strait. It further added that Taiwan does not have the capability of confronting a modern military attack and thus the independence is a dead end. On the other hand, the Chinese government in the white paper said, 'for millennia, peace has been in the veins and the DNA of the Chinese nation’. 

During the visit of US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach, China also sent 18 fighter jets to harry the island to express its anger at the trip. According to a statement by Taiwan's Defence Ministry, at least 18 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers crossed the median line on Friday morning. A day after, Taiwanese President, however, denounced the Chinese fighter jets crossing the median line and said that the action proved that Beijing is a threat to the entire region. She said that China’s decision to hover its aircraft above the island has revealed the true intentions of Beijing. 

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Taiwan-China tensions 

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and is particularly upset, as well as concerned about the growing relations between Taipei and Washington. According to the US Department of Defence, China had not crossed the median line of the Taiwan strait for two decades from 1999 to 2019. However, last year in March, Beijing for the first time in many years manoeuvred across the line and since then there have been many instances of such violations by the Communist state. 

China has on several occasions expressed its willingness to annex Taiwan by force and the United States says that it is for this reason that they supply the island nation with arms, so that peace and stability could be maintained in the region. However, the United States doesn't have any formal ties with Taiwan because of China's 'One China' policy which requires partners of Beijing to adhere to it.

(With inputs from ANI) 

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