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Taiwanese foreign minister warns China preparing for invasion

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By Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee

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Time for a till now irrelevant Quad to become relevant.

All 4 countries should signal that if China tries any mischief, they will not be fighting one country but all 4 countries simultaneously.

Let's see if their much hyped military which has not fought a proper war for 43 years can fight on the Eastern as well as the Western fronts. And the Quad navies should jointly blockade the Indian Ocean as well.

The wolf warriors will go howling to the Russians, but Putin is focused on the war in Ukraine so they will probably be forced to slink back to their caves.

24 ( +32 / -8 )

I dont think economic sanctions against China would work, as most nations have strong trading relationships with that military dictatorship.

Maybe countries should have thought about the rise of China and what it would mean before they enmeshed their economies .

You can say the same about global warming.

The rush to profit hides many things

18 ( +24 / -6 )

The world must prepare for ceasing all trade with China, should it invade Taiwan. Pull all companies out of China now and seek alternatives for all products and supply chains. It will happen immediately when China invades, as many nations will be at war with China and it will be blockaded with ships traveling to or from China, sunk on sight or captured as a war prize.

17 ( +27 / -10 )

We all made China strong buy buying their junk.

26 ( +34 / -8 )

The whole world helped China's "Peaceful Rise" believing that rasing the living standards in China would lead to a large middle class and the CCP would have to liberalize. Instead the CCP has become even worse than before, a militant fascist state bent on regional domination and very possibly more. We are already at the last chance of stopping this monster that we helped create. Abandoning Taiwan in the face of a Chinese invasion would be the worst thing the world could do,

9 ( +22 / -13 )

Wolves! Wolves! Wolves.......

Never crying something that is not going to happen, that is unhelpful!

-18 ( +5 / -23 )

The world must prepare for ceasing all trade with China, should it invade Taiwan. Pull all companies out of China now and seek alternatives for all products and supply chains.

Neo-liberal oligarchs of the global capitalist market economy opened the door to the guided application of mercantalist capitalist techniques to the CCP oligarchs and large scale control over a global manufacturing base.

A Trojan horse maneuver which the Davos set rentier capitalists have been complicit in.

What may come is yet to be seen but the disintegration of China from the global market economy due to its threat to Taiwan is highly unlikely.

-3 ( +7 / -10 )

Wolves! Wolves! Wolves.......

Never crying something that is not going to happen, that is unhelpful!

Nonsense.

6 months ago a huge number of fools on here were saying the exact same thing about Russia. Theyd never invade Ukraine; it was simply a military exercise; it was the evil west and NATO simply saying it to stir up trouble. Some of us knew otherwise - and we were proven right.

These despotic, totalitarian states care not one bit about following international law. I would be heeding the warnings of free Taiwan, and ignoring everything China says.

The democratic world - the US, Japan, UK, India, Germany, France, QUAD - stands by to assist free Taiwan the very moment the PRC makes a move. Another Ukraine-style invasion will NOT be allowed to happen.

10 ( +20 / -10 )

Both Putin and Xi have been very disappointing. I thought peace had a chance then.

Peace will sadly never have a chance while undemocratic, totalitarian, fascist states continue to exist.

8 ( +15 / -7 )

As Pelosi left the region last Friday, China also ditched some lines of communication with the United States, including theatre level military talks and discussions on climate change.

China broke its own 'One China, Two Systems' agreement when it forced HK under its control but have the nerve to complain the US violated it over Pelosi's visit, just shows how immature and irresponsible China is.

The US must have done something right to tick off the CCP and its internet minions.

It is said that everything comes in threes.

So we've had Trump, then Putin and now Xi Jinping!

6 ( +15 / -9 )

Taiwanese foreign minister warns China preparing for invasion

They have been preparing for an invasion since 1948. However, I do not believe for a second that the Xi regime has the appetite for a bloody battle to take mainland Taiwan. Remember how many Chinese solders are single children (little emperors) as a result of the 1-child policy.

However, I think it is entirely possible that Xi grabs one of the smaller Taiwanese islands close to China, and neither Taiwan nor Western governments can do anything about it. Rather then blustering with nothing to back it up, our governments should work on reducing our dependence on CCP Chinese manufacturing. But dont hold your breath...

-8 ( +6 / -14 )

Taiwan, which is claimed by China as its own,

'"s its own", I wonder whether Xi Jinping and Putin, this eras era's Hitler and Stalin have already made plans to carve the world up ala the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact. And if so, I wonder which one will later turn against the other.

0 ( +9 / -9 )

Fighto!

6 months ago a huge number of fools on here were saying the exact same thing about Russia. Theyd never invade Ukraine; it was simply a military exercise; it was the evil west and NATO simply saying it to stir up trouble. Some of us knew otherwise - and we were proven right.

"Knew otherwise" what exactly? That NATO expansion right up Russias nose would be unacceptable to ANY Russian government? Plenty of experts have warned us about that for years. I suppose CNN forgot to remind you of that?

-11 ( +5 / -16 )

Fighto!

The democratic world - the US, Japan, UK, India, Germany, France, QUAD - stands by to assist free Taiwan the very moment the PRC makes a move. Another Ukraine-style invasion will NOT be allowed to happen.

What do you mean by "Ukraine style invasion"? Is there a mainland Chinese population in the Eastern parts of Taiwan that has been brutalized and murdered by the current government, in violation of promises made 7 years ago? Is Taiwan attempting to join NATO and put NATO missiles on it islands bordering China? No, I did not know that either. So what are you trying to compare here?

-12 ( +5 / -17 )

Blaming China's aggressive actions towards Taiwan on Pelosi's visit is just an excuse. Anyone who believes it is a CCP puppet.

11 ( +17 / -6 )

Again, elections do have real world consequences.

What a pathetic state of things.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Taiwan, which is claimed by China as its own,

'"as its own", I wonder whether Xi Jinping and Putin, this eras era's Hitler and Stalin have already made plans to carve the world up ala the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact. And if so, I wonder which one will later turn against the other.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Where do I sign to be in the Taiwanese Foreigner’s Legion ?

7 ( +10 / -3 )

The democratic world - the US, Japan, UK, India, Germany, France, QUAD - stands by to assist free Taiwan the very moment the PRC makes a move

I don't recall these democratic countries attacking Spain when it wouldn't allow the people of Catalonia an independence referendum. Or criticizing Ukraine when it imposed language restrictions on Russian speaking areas. And right now, the two contenders to be the UK's prime minister have said they won't allow a referendum for Scottish independence even though the people of Scotland have voted repeatedly for politicians who support one.

So why the support for an independent Taiwan? The cynic in me says it's not that they support the people of Taiwan so much as they are looking at their own vested interests.

Right now I'm just hoping some really smart politician will emerge who can help resolve things in a way that lets the people of Taiwan decide their own future and avoids the killing and maiming of children. Sadly, I'm not so optimistic.

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

WilliB

"Knew otherwise" what exactly? That NATO expansion right up Russias nose would be unacceptable to ANY Russian government?

Nope. Because Putin's invasion of Ukraine has nothing to do with NATO. It's about Putin's imperialistic ambitions to have Ukraine as part of Russia.

Plenty of experts have warned us about that for years.

True. And they were all dead wrong.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Some of y'all be forgetting that the only one to have expanded their borders towards the other, is not NATO - who have the same borders as when this all started - but rather Russia. Though 'expanded' is a fairly generous statement, they're not exactly walking through Ukraine, are they. Their 48 hour war has taken a wee bit longer than Putin planned.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

2020hindsights

Nope. Because Putin's invasion of Ukraine has nothing to do with NATO. It's about Putin's imperialistic ambitions to have Ukraine as part of Russia.

Putin never said anything like that, and Nato has everything to do with that.

True. And they were all dead wrong.

Actually, they were right.

-11 ( +3 / -14 )

it would conduct fresh joint drills focusing on ant-submarine and sea assault operations

"Ant-submarine?" Is this some fiendish microtechnology at work?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

The Avenger....

China broke its own 'One China, Two Systems' agreement when it forced HK under its control

This agreement works both ways. When outside parties start pushing for "independence" and "Full democracy", they are also breaking the agreement. Hong Kong and Taiwan are China. Get used to it.

-12 ( +1 / -13 )

Time for all countries to recognize Taiwan as an independent country like any other. Do away with all this one china nonsense. All countries must come to support Taiwan when china in a huff try to invade.

15 ( +15 / -0 )

Thanks for this Nancy, well done.

hold on I though they said Dems werent tough on China, seems like they were wrong, get this all of Trumps tariffs that he put on China are still there, Biden hasnt removed them

1 ( +3 / -2 )

You realize that buccaneering has gone out of fashion back at the end of the 17th century...Piracy is still occasionally a thing though...

As far as I know, taking a war prize remains the legal right of parties at war and is preferred to outright sinking without warning.

"Under contemporary international law and treaties, nations may still bring enemy vessels before their prize courts, to be condemned and sold. But no nation now offers a share to the officers or crew who risked their lives in the capture:"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prize_(law)

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Xi and Putin have both lied and can not be trusted.

To be fair, most politicians in every country lie, and they do so often and with straight faces.

Putin and Xi do it and the consequences are far worse than the average politician lying.

Putin's lies have lead to invasions, murders, war crimes on a scale not seen since WWII and Xi lies about "reeducation centers" ethnic cleansing of areas under Chinese rule, forced sterilization of minority women, invasion and occupation of Tibet, claims over the South China sea, claims over Taiwan, the list for Xi is quite extensive and he has shown he has no problems with others dying for his claims.

When lying becomes the states main weapon for controlling its population, and when it happens daily without a second thought, nothing good can ever come to those nations. Misery, pain and sacrifice are daily companions of the poor and those who lack any influence. People in power are shielded from the misery and sacrifice the average people suffer.

So do not take the word of Xi or his peons when they say they have no plans to invade Taiwan. They hope for the chance to invade and blame it on others. As Putin accused NATO, Nazi's and perhaps even the Easter bunny of provoking Russia into invading and murdering its neighbor.

Actions speak louder than words and they are more accurate. China encircles Taiwan with it's military but maintains it does not plan on invading Taiwan. Examples of their plans are currently on show for the world yet they lie saying they have no plans to invade Taiwan.

Do not believe serial liars. Doing so leads only to pain and regret.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

China wont invade nothing. Unlike Ukraine who merely have "grains and bread", Taiwan has microchips, more valuable than grains. So the "West" wont tolerate such atrocity and China knows this.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

WilliB

Nope. Because Putin's invasion of Ukraine has nothing to do with NATO. It's about Putin's imperialistic ambitions to have Ukraine as part of Russia.

Putin never said anything like that, and Nato has everything to do with that.

Actually, he did. He said that Ukraine was not a real country. He wanted to assimilate it into Russia. And Ukraine won't be the last. Belarus and others are in his sight.

Later, soon after the invasion, some propaganda was accidentally released (and quickly deleted, but not before an archive was made). It appears that it had a scheduled release, assuming that Ukraine would quickly capitulate.

It talks about Russia being whole again with Ukraine back as part of Russia. It gives up the whole motivation of why Putin invaded in the first place.

You can believe Putin's pretexts of NATO expansion if it makes you feel better, but it's just not why he invaded.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Tell_me_bout_it

Taiwan has microchips, more valuable than grains.

Actually, grains are more important to life than microchips.

So the "West" wont tolerate such atrocity and China knows this.

The "West" is in no position to "tolerate" or not "tolerate" anything that China does at its doorsteps, and China knows this. The reason the Xi government is not going to invade Taiwan proper is internal and has nothing to do with hot air spouting in the White House and Brussels.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

BTW, if you want to read the original propaganda article, here it is:

https://mil.in.ua/en/news/brave-new-world-of-putin-an-article-by-the-propaganda-publication-ria-novosti-which-was-to-be-published-after-the-occupation-of-ukraine/

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Obviously, Taiwan is also using this to prepare their own defenses, studying China's actions, and training their forces

Information goes both ways

5 ( +5 / -0 )

2020hindsights

BTW, if you want to read the original propaganda article, here it is:

https://mil.in.ua/en/news/brave-new-world-of-putin-an-article-by-the-propaganda-publication-ria-novosti-which-was-to-be-published-after-the-occupation-of-ukraine/

That is Ukrainian state propaganda. I am not saying you should not read it or it should banned (to the contrary), but at least you should be aware of what you read. The track record of Ukrainian state propaganda is not exactly stellar, remember the ghost of Kiev, the Butcha and other fake atrocities, and now the 1 million man armee....

That said, this particular article might even be true. It describes regime change in Ukraine, away from the Nato imperialist orbit.... pretty much what I said. And please tell us the US is not dabbling with regime change around the world?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

I stand corrected: it seems that some kind of "buccaneering" did remain in use where onus was put on the legally "trading" the captured goods / ship until the 19th / 20th century, with said laws never having been abolished but the concept is currently for all intends and purposes not in practice anymore.

No large conflict on a maritime basis since WWII. Some vessels were captured by German merchant raiders, but most ships were simply sunk. In the event of another large conflict involving trade blockades there may be neutral vessels taken as prize to stop enemy imports/exports with the ship returned to the neutral nation during or after the conflict. Or they may simply be sunk as in WWI and WWII. Either way this will encourage neutrals to stay out of blockade zones and to limit or halt trade with the enemy. It is not currently in practice because there are no blockades or wars involving maritime trade. That in no way means it can not, or will not happen again in a future conflict.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I’ve been buying Apple products for 26 years, including iPhones since I started. Maybe not anymore. Besides, they have the worst commercials as well.

Apple has notified suppliers that anything shipped from Taiwan needs to have a "Made in China" label in order to strictly comply with Chinese customs regulations, following a controversial visit to the island, Nikkei Asia reports.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

You know, he's not always right, but he is often right.

PM Lee of Singapore had this to say.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-pm-warns-worsening-geopolitical-climate-national-address-2022-08-08/

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If China takes Taiwan they will not stop, China will then try to take all of the "So Called Territorial Waters" in the area and the set up economic zones for their own purpose and control the shipping lanes. Xi is on a mission to take all of Asia and put every other country in the area in a corner!!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"It's conducting large-scale military exercises, missile launches as well as cyber attacks, a disinformation campaign and economic coercion in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan."

Why is this even 'new' to Taiwanese leaders? HK is accross the strait and China has been destabilizing and coercing its people since handover.

China is on a long march, it has said so. It won't stop until its ideology is accepted by all. Unless the west can make China own each and every action and plan, China will simply ratchet up its mission - to make us all conforming. Just look at businesses operating out of China - conform to the party or else.

IMO, Taiwan needs to increase its training and compulsory military service regime, it's inevitable that China will invade, regardless of what USA say or do. Taiwan also need to recognize what is lost each and everytime it has interaction with China, just look at commercial shipping and commercial flights in recent examples. It is a zero sum game for China, and it should be perceived as so for Taiwan and the west as well.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Seems that China is following Russia's pre-invasion playbook. Deny, deny, deny, all while spinning up the anti-Taiwan propaganda back home with more lies, lies, lies.

Taiwan also needs to realize that for 4-6 months, they will get little real help from anyone else. Their only hope is to expel Chinese nationals AND to prevent any from entry so they don't have attacks from inside and outside their country.

China doesn't care how many people they kill. It is all about attempting to save face, which is already impossible. They are seeing how far they can push with little violations and each violation that goes a little farther and isn't answered at all (protests are useless), just resets the new bar for violations that much closer.

If I were in Taiwan and recommending things for locals, I'd tell them to vastly increase the amount of long-term food they keep at home and start rotating through it. 1 yr for the entire family would be recommended. Those can be bought as MREs online for a a few hundred USD/person, subsidized with dehydrated foods, lots of rice and beans. And everyone there should learn to keep when there isn't any power or natural gas delivery. It is much better to be prepared BEFORE anything happens.

The CDC had a joke page about natural disaster preparation - Zombie Apocalypse 101 - which has been taken down now. It was full of good information to handle natural disasters where living for a week or two is common. When we look at Ukraine, it seems clear that 6-12 months will be needed when the CCP military lands. I'm not saying if, but when.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I honestly hope that China doesn't do anything, but Taiwan needs many more underwater demolition experts with underwater "scooters" that can silently go 20km with a bit of a load and 2 men onboard.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I honestly hope that China doesn't do anything

Hope is good, prepare is better. Defense experts are saying the drills China carried out requires planning well before Pelosi travel rumours even surfaced. This is not a reaction to Pelosi travelling, this is China taking advantage of the weak Biden administration to practice an invasion.

Note, the route taken by Pelosi avoided the China territorial claim altogether, and when she eventually departed Taiwan for South Korea, the SK president didn't come to greet her, offering instead a phone call.

Everybody, except the White House knows that invasion is only a matter of time.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Taiwan FM warns China preparing for invasion :

Perhaps it is too early to keep crying wolves just to create unnecessary yet pathetic scene to beg for US financial & military aids.

Be reminded that US is not a free-meal provider, it must be paid doubly subsequently..

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

You better believe the good foreign minister when he said China’s invasion is imminent. The globalists thrive on crisis that is why Pelosi made a visit to Taiwan to provoke China just like how they have provoked Russia to invade Ukraine.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

theFu

Seems that China is following Russia's pre-invasion playbook. Deny, deny, deny, all while spinning up the anti-Taiwan propaganda back home with more lies, lies, lies.

That is not "Russia's pre-invasion playbook". Unless you take all your information from "mainstream" media propaganda. Russia finally responded with a military operation after years and years of US/Nato aggression. That is an entirely different from the China situation, where CCP claims the island, while the island has ceased all its claims against China long ago. You might want to read a bit more background than current media reporting.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

theFu

I honestly hope that China doesn't do anything, but Taiwan needs many more underwater demolition experts with underwater "scooters" that can silently go 20km with a bit of a load and 2 men onboard.

Why would they need that?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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