Despite China’s intensifying military threats against Taiwan, the democratic island is “not alone,” as it shares common values with many nations, a Taiwanese official said earlier this week.
During an exclusive interview in Taipei with The Epoch Times, Dr. Shiing Jer Twu, chairman of Taiwan’s Development Center for Biotechnology, spoke about Beijing’s ongoing threats to invade and subjugate free and democratic Taiwan.
This threat was highlighted recently by The Economist, which called Taiwan “the most dangerous place on Earth” on its front cover, due to concerns that communist China may attempt a military takeover of Taiwan in the near future, perhaps within the next six years, according to Admiral Phil Davidson, who was Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command until April.
But Twu pushed back on The Economist’s characterization.
“The Economist says that Taiwan is the most dangerous [place on Earth]—I don’t think that’s right,” he told The Epoch Times. He said that The Economist’s headline is helpful, however, in informing readers that Taiwan needs increased support to defend itself against China’s intensifying military build-up and aggression. “If this [news] is out, [people realize] ‘We must help Taiwan more than now, otherwise it looks very dangerous,’” Twu stated.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, has in recent months been dialing up military aggression toward the island, which some analysts say is a test of the Biden administration to see whether it will take concrete action to respond. This year, the Chinese military has sent multiple aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on a near-daily basis.
“If mainland China tries to attack Taiwan, of course we Taiwanese people must say that Taiwan is an independent country. We don’t belong to you. You must not invade Taiwan. This is not right,” said Twu, who is also Taiwan’s former health minister, a lawmaker, and mayor of Chiayi, one of Taiwan’s largest cities. “We must protect ourselves.”
BY ADAM MOLON
