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Published 20:35 IST, August 21st 2021

'Let me be blunt': Taiwan Finance Minister claims China 'dreams of emulating' Taliban

"China dreams of emulating the Taleban, but let me be blunt: We've got the will and means to defend ourselves," Minister of Foreign Affairs, ROC, Wu said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
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IMAGE: AP | Image: self

Taiwan's foreign minister on Friday lambasted the People’s Republic of China saying that President Xi Jinping's regime is motivated to "emulate" the Taliban. Taiwan’s Joseph Wu referred to Beijing’s aim of enforcing the communist regime and committing humanitarian crimes within the island nation, similar to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Wu responded to the US State Department’s call for China to stop pressuring the island of Taiwan. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude to the United States for intervention, adding that Taiwan might suffer the same fate as Afghanistan in case of a Chinese invasion, as he took to the island’s Twitter handle to express his anti-China sentiments. 

"They include democracy and freedom from communism, authoritarianism, and crimes against humanity," Wu wrote on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC account. "China dreams of emulating the Taleban, but let me be blunt: We've got the will and means to defend ourselves," he added, without delving into many details.

The fall of the US-backed Afghan government and the rise of the Taliban sparked a debate worldwide about human rights and the democratic fabric of a nation. Taiwan, the sovereign Chinese territory, lashed out at CPC for cosying up to the Taliban terrorists, as the minister accused Beijing of being inspired by the fundamentalists.

Taiwan Affairs Office did not answer calls for further clarification when contacted by the foreign press reporters on Saturday. Taiwan clearly derided the Chinese diplomacy with the Taliban, and its own military muscle-flexing in the occupied territory of their country and the autonomous city of Hong Kong.

China sings Taliban laurels 

China’s regional leadership role in welcoming the Taliban fundamentalist rule has triggered widespread criticism. India's two neighbours, China and Pakistan, have been enhancing communication and coordination on Afghanistan issues as the two ‘important and strategic’ allies to the newly planted terror-filled Taliban regime. China has cosied up with the Talibani terrorists since the 1990s, the last time the Islamist regime was in power.

On Thursday, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), People's Daily, glorified the newly emboldened Islamic fundamentalist regime saying that they will “respect choices of Afghan citizens”. This is despite the Taliban continuing its efforts of retribution against Afghan loyalists in nerve-wracking door-to-door searches. 

Just days ago, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying appeared to whitewash the rustic and violent image of the catastrophic Taliban that has often paraded mutilated bodies of Afghan nationals.

Updated 20:35 IST, August 21st 2021