How Taiwan vice president’s US visit is making China see red

China and Taiwan share strained ties and the stopover by Vice President William Lai Ching-te in New York is only angering Beijing further. China’s foreign ministry on Sunday condemned the transit of Taiwan’s vice president and presidential candidate William Lai through the United States, calling him a “troublemaker through and through.” Lai, who is also the front-runner to become Taiwan’s president in elections in January, arrived in New York on Saturday en route to Paraguay where he will attend the inauguration of Paraguayan president Santiago Pena on 15 August. Paraguay is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America. Before returning to Taiwan, Lai will again pause in San Francisco on Wednesday. Lai’s Big Apple visit Vice President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan made his way to New York on Saturday where he met with members of the Taiwanese American community. In his address, Lai said Taiwan would not be afraid nor back down in the face of authoritarian threats and reiterated a willingness to talk to China. Lai told a supporters lunch in New York on Sunday that “if Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, if the Taiwan Strait is peaceful, then the world is peaceful,” according to Taiwan’s presidential office. “No matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared nor cower, we will uphold the values of democracy and freedom,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_12995872” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Taiwan’s William Lai waves at Taoyuan International Airport before his departure to the United States for a stopover in New York on his way to Paraguay, in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Reuters[/caption] He also visited the New York Mets’ home stadium during his layover. For the unknown, Lai (63), a former doctor, has pressed for Taiwan’s aspirations for fully exercising sovereignty, and he has previously called himself a “pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence.” As per a New York Times report, his visit to the US and then Paraguay is also seeking to assure Taiwanese voters, and probably Washington, that he can be a steady pair of hands. In a brief statement at the airport before leaving, Lai said he would use his visit to Paraguay — one of only 13 states that retains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan — to promote his island democracy’s global role.

“Lai wants to reassure the United States and its allies,” Lu Yeh-chung, a professor of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei told the New York Times. “He wants everyone to know that he is not a troublemaker.” Interestingly, the Taiwanese leader’s visit t Paraguay comes amid reports that China has paid outlets in Paraguay to spread negative reports about the visit, according to a release from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning the action. China sees red However, Lai’s visit to New York has enraged Beijing, who views Taiwan as part of its territory. In fact, China has been pushing for unification with Taiwan and has stated that they will use any means necessary to realise their goals. Just as Lai was taking off for his visit, China issued not one, but three condemnations. On Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying, “We firmly oppose any visit by Taiwan independence separatists to the US… under whatever pretext, and we firmly oppose the US government having any form of official contact with the Taiwan region.” The spokesperson further stated, “Lai Ching-te clings stubbornly to the separatist position for Taiwan independence. He is a troublemaker through and through.” “We urge the US to… stop all forms of official interaction with Taiwan, stop conniving at and supporting Taiwan independence separatist forces and their separatist activities and stop fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle,” the ministry’s statement concluded. [caption id=“attachment_12995882” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Protesters gather while Taiwan’s vice president William Lai is attending the event in Manhattan in New York City, New York. Reuters[/caption] Later, the Chinese consulate in New York also criticised Lai’s visit and accused the US of using “tricks” to “obscure and hollow out” the one-China principle. “The outrageous acts of flattering the US and betraying Taiwan and Taiwan compatriots will never succeed. Taiwan independence separatists will only find themselves disdained by all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation and condemned by history,” the consulate said. In addition to condemning the visit, China has also deployed ships and planes near the island. On Monday, the Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army, which has responsibility for the area around Taiwan, showed pictures on its WeChat account of troops practicing storming a beach, though did not give the location, timing or specifically mention Taiwan. It said the soldiers guided armoured vehicles “to the enemy frontline positions and launched a fierce attack”. Earlier too in April, when Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen visited the US and met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, Beijing had carried out war games around the island. **Also read: China sends warships, aircraft near Taiwan after president meets with US House Speaker: Could tensions rise further?** In fact, in the past year, China has been increasingly edging closer to Taiwan’s territorial seas and skies, probing the island’s vigilance and trying to wear down its military planes and ships. An analysis of the movement of planes and ships have shown a rise following diplomatic visits. Last year, China made more than 1,700 flights into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, nearly double the number in 2021, according to Ben Lewis, a military analyst who maintains a data set on the flights using daily reports from Taiwan’s ministry of defence. In this year itself, Taiwan has recorded a 54 per cent spike in flights. Hsiao-Huang Shu, from Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, believes it’s “inevitable”. “The PLA is accustomed to using large-scale military operations during significant political events to convey political messages and express dissatisfaction with events such as visits by international friends, international expressions of support for Taiwan, and major US arms sales to Taiwan,” he was quoted as telling ABC News. [caption id=“attachment_12995892” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft near Taiwan. Reuters[/caption] Washington speaks Though the United States severed formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, it has remained a close ally, selling billions of dollars’ worth of arms under the Taiwan Relations Act, which states that the US must provide the island with the means to defend itself. **Also read: How US and Taiwan are strengthening military ties amid rising China tensions** While it hasn’t made an official statement on Lai’s visit, a senior administration official had earlier said: “Beijing “should not use as a pretext any transit by Vice President Lai for brazen coercion or other provocative activities (and) should not be a pretext for interference in Taiwan’s election either. Daniel Russel, a former senior Asia hand in the Obama administration, also said that there was nothing new in Lai’s visit to the US. “Every serious (Taiwan presidential) candidate in the past has come to the United States for kind of an informal base touch — there is nothing new, radical or different about this,” he was quoted as telling The Politico. With inputs from agencies