China-Taiwan news: Top Taiwan official found dead as China accused of attack simulation
Official had assumed charge to lead various missile production projects that sought to nearly double output
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A top Taiwanese defence ministry official was found dead on Saturday as the self-governing territory accused China of carrying out a “simulated attack” with the country’s warships and planes conducting missions in the Taiwan Strait.
Ou Yang Li-hsing, the deputy head of the Taiwan defence ministry’s research and development unit, died from a heart attack on Saturday in his hotel room, reported state media.
The room had no signs of ‘intrusion’ and his family had a history of heart disease, said the official Central News Agency.
Meanwhile, the defence ministry tweeted on Saturday that multiple Chinese craft conducted missions in the Taiwan Strait, with some crossing the median line which is an unofficial buffer separating the two sides in what it sees as a “possible simulated attack.”
The developments come as Beijing continues its military offensive as it fired multiple ballistic missiles in the direction of Taiwan, four of which flew directly over the capital city Taipei.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken slammed China’s military exercises, saying there was no justification for Beijing’s “extreme disproportionate and escalatory” response.
The statement came as Ms Pelosi reasserted America’s support for Taiwan, saying that China will not be able to isolate the island by preventing US officials from travelling there.
Tucker Carlson mocked for saying ‘US has never been less ready for war’
Between Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip and the US strike on Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, questions and analysis about the US military’s tactics are on the minds of many. Including Tucker Carlson.
The Fox News host went on a tirade earlier this week blasting the military readiness of the US on the same day that President Joe Biden announced that the leader of Al-Qaeda had been killed.
On Monday night, Mr Carlson also laced into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who landed in Taiwan on the following day along with fellow Democratic lawmakers for a trip that has been criticized for ratcheting up tensions with China. China notably considers the island part of its own territory.
“Nancy Pelosi ... has no understanding of what she is doing or what might happen if she does it”, Mr Carlson said ahead of Ms Pelosi’s trip. “No one wants to say it out loud, but the truth is, she can’t know because, like Kamala Harris, she’s never even been in a bar fight. She has no understanding of violence or its consequences and there are consequences, including the potential deaths of millions of people.”
Tucker Carlson says ‘US has never been less ready for war’ as Biden strikes Al Qaeda
The Fox News host claims that the “Biden administration has done everything it can to make certain that we are not ready for war with China or even with the Taliban”
Chinese ambassador to US slams Pelosi trip in Washington Post op-ed
Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the US, voice his frustration with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip in a scathing op-ed published Thursday in The Washington Post.
In the piece, he argued the US and the international community have long recognised China as the sole representative of Taiwan. Ms Pelosi’s trip, he said, shattered an unsteady peace.
“These are extremely irresponsible, provocative and dangerous moves,” he wrote. “The one-China principle is part of the postwar international order and has become a general international consensus. As a country that thinks of itself as a champion of the ‘rules-based international order,’ the United States should naturally abide by the one-China principle.”
Read the full piece via the Post.
Why did Pelosi visit the DMZ?
As if the tension wasn’t high enough, Nancy Pelosi visited the heavily fortified, 160-mile Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea on Thursday with members of a congressional delegation.
“It was a privilege to engage with American heroes in uniform on the ground in Korea, led by General Paul LaCamera, Commander, U.S. Forces Korea. During visits to the Demilitarized Zone/Joint Security Area (DMZ/JSA) and Osan Air Base, we conveyed the gratitude of the Congress and the Country for the patriotic service of our Servicemembers, who stand as sentinels of Democracy on the Korean peninsula,” she wrote in a statement afterwards.
The visit, as well as Ms Pelosi’s meeting with South Korean leaders, reinforced the US’s role as a nuclear deterent on the Korean peninsula.
“The United States and South Korea share a strong bond formed for security and forged by decades of warm friendship. Our Congressional delegation traveled to Seoul to reaffirm our treasured ties and our shared commitment to advancing security and stability, economic growth and democratic governance,” the House Speaker said of her visit.
Another high-profile foreign trip—to the US
Nancy Pelosi isn’t the only leader on a controversial foreign tour.
A little over a week ago, Hungary’s prime minister delivered a speech about immigration in which he declared that Europeans “do not want to become peoples of mixed-race.”
The comments by Viktor Orban, the 59-year-old far-right leader, prompted outrage in his own country and across Europe for their explicit racism, and led to the resignation of his close adviser of 20 years, who described the speech as “pure Nazi text.”
But Mr Orban’s use of white supremacist rhetoric did little to dampen the enthusiasm of American conservatives for his visit to the United States this week.
The prime minister was pictured smiling alongside Donald Trump at his Bedminster golf resort on Tuesday. After the meeting, the former president released a statement in which he described Mr Orban as a “friend,” adding: “few people know as much about what is going on in the world today.”
Richard Hall with the full story.
Fresh from furore over ‘Nazi’ speech, Viktor Orban receives rousing welcome at CPAC
Far-right authoritarian leader received a standing ovation at the gathering of American conservatives in Dallas
Nancy Pelosi arrives in Japan
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Japan on Thursday evening for the final leg of her Asia tour.
Her plane taxied in at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo around 10pm.
Ms Pelosi is scheduled to meet with the Speaker of Japan’s Lower House, Hosoda Hiroyuki, during her visit.
She will also have breakfast on Friday with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss the US-Japan alliance.
Japan has protested China’s military excercises near Taiwan, which came as the US official visited the contested island nation earlier this week.
Photos and videos capture Nancy Pelosi arriving in Japan
Nancy Pelosi arrived in Japan on Thursday evening.
She was greated by a delegation including US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and Ricky Rupp, the commander of US forces in Japan.
Here’s what the scene looked like on the ground.
South Korean president misses Pelosi meeting for staycation
Nancy Pelosi’s much-watched Asia tour has included a run of high-profile meetings: conversations with the prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia; a meeting with the president of Taiwan; and a likely dialogue with the prime minister of Japan by the end of the week.
Missing from that list is the president of South Korea, who missed an in-person get together with the House Speaker as he takes a staycation in Seoul.
Ms Pelosi arrived in South Korea on Wednesday evening. At the time Yoon Suk-yeol was in north Seoul attending a theater performance, grabbing selfies and dinner with the cast of a comedy about a subway station worker.
Mr Yoon’s office has explained he was unavailable to meet in person with the US leader.
Here’s our full story on the snub.
South Korean president misses Pelosi meeting for staycation
President was at theater performance when House Speaker landed in South Korea
China’s Dongfeng missiles take center stage amid Taiwan tensions
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence has accused China of firing 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles into waters to the northeast and southwest of the island as part of aggressive military drills intended as an intimidating show of force.
Tensions in the region have escalated considerably following a visit to Taiwan this week by Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, third in line to the presidency and the most senior American politician to visit the country in 25 years.
Beijing urged Ms Pelosi not to pay her respects to a territory that has its own democratic political system, constitution and military but which China considers its own, warning that the trip amounted to “playing with fire”.
After she brushed off those threats and arrived in Taipei, the superpower ordered five days of live-fire exercises and warned that regional conflict could become inevitable, ratcheting up tensions with the self-governing republic to their highest levels since 1996.
Joe Sommerlad with the full story.
How powerful are China’s Dongfeng missiles?
Rockets fired near Taiwanese waters as Nancy Pelosi visit ignites regional tensions
Pelosi: Asian trip ‘is not about changing the status quo in Taiwan’
US House speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that the trip to Asia was never “about changing the status quo in Taiwan or the region”. She made the comments after meeting Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.
Ms Pelosi, who became the highest-level US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, had praised its democracy and pledged solidarity, enraging China. It prompted the infuriated neighbour to hold live-fire military drills in the waters off Taiwan.
China’s state broadcaster said the military exercises that began yesterday and are set to end on Sunday, would be the largest conducted by China in the Taiwan Strait. The exercises have involved live fire on the waters and in the airspace around the island.
Five missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), prompting Tokyo to lodge a strong protest through diplomatic channels.
One of Washington’s closest allies, Tokyo has been increasingly alarmed about China’s growing might in the Indo-Pacific and the possibility that Beijing could take military action against Taiwan.
Chinese ambassador issues chilling warning to Taiwan
A senior Chinese diplomat has issued a chilling warning to Taiwan not to assert its independence anymore, lest it have China “re-educate” the breakaway territory.
Read the full story, only from Independent Premium.
Beijing will ‘re-educate’ Taiwan if it takes over island, Chinese ambassador warns
Chinese envoy describes Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei as an ‘unnecessary provocation’
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