China, Taiwan clash over history; Beijing says can't 'invade' what is already Chinese territory
FILE PHOTO: Chess pieces are seen in front of displayed Chinese and Taiwanese flags in this illustration taken, April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
China and Taiwan clashed over their competing interpretations of history in an escalating war of words over what Beijing views as provocations from Taiwan's government, and said it is impossible to "invade" what is already Chinese land.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure over the past five years. China has an especial dislike of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, calling him a "separatist".
Lai has since Sunday given two speeches in what will be a series of 10 on "uniting the country", saying that Taiwan is "of course a country" and China has no legal or historical right to claim it.
Speaking on Wednesday at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said any "independence provocations" from Lai and his administration will face "resolute countermeasures".
"Though the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet been fully reunified, the historical and legal fact that compatriots on both sides belong to one China and that both sides' compatriots are Chinese has never changed," she said.
Tensions between China and Taiwan, including several rounds of Chinese war games, have raised the possibility Beijing may one day make good on threats to take Taiwan by force which could ignite a regional war.
China's last war games were in April, and its air force and navy operate around Taiwan on a daily basis, sometimes using dozens of warplanes, according to the island's defense ministry.
Asked about U.S. comments on Chinese drills strengthening preparations for an attack, Zhu corrected the reporter.
"Taiwan is a part of China; there is no invasion to speak of," she said.
Lai takes a different view on Taiwan's status and future.
In a speech late on Tuesday, he said Taiwan's future can only be decided by its people, democratically, not by a decision by any party or president, and that "Taiwan independence" refers to the island not being a part of the People's Republic of China.
The defeated Republic of China, founded after the 1911 revolution that brought down the last emperor, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name.
"How old is the Republic of China? It's 113 years old, and will be 114 years old this year. The People's Republic of China? It's only some 70 years old, right? It's simple and clear," Lai said.
This year's 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two is another sensitive topic, and China has invited old soldiers who fought for the Republic of China to a military parade in Beijing in early September.
Taiwan does not want them to attend, and on Wednesday its defense minister, Wellington Koo, said Beijing was trying to distort history.
"The war of resistance was led and won by the Republic of China, not the People's Republic of China - this is without a doubt," he told reporters at parliament.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asahi Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
China can maintain high growth and transition to consumer-led economy, premier Li says
Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks at the ASEAN - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - China Economic Forum official dinner on the sidelines of the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 27. (Pool via REUTERS) TIANJIN, China--China's Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday he was confident the world's No.2 economy could maintain a 'relatively rapid' growth rate as it transitions from a manufacturing-led model to a consumer-driven one, a shift analysts say is key to securing its future. Li's keynote speech, delivered at a World Economic Forum meeting in Tianjin, comes as Chinese officials seek to cushion the economic damage caused by the trade war with the United States through policy support - a particularly daunting challenge for authorities grappling with the pressing need to undertake painful structural reforms. Most analysts believe China's $19 trillion economy faces two broad paths: it can sustain relatively high, albeit slowing, growth driven by strong exports - a trend likely to fade as trade tensions with the West escalate - or it can endure several years of slower growth while implementing reforms aimed at unlocking longer-term gains through its vast consumer market. But China's second-ranking official told delegates he was optimistic that Beijing could pull off both. 'We are confident in our ability to maintain a relatively rapid growth rate for China's economy,' Li said. 'China's economy showed steady improvement in the second quarter,' he added. 'Regardless of how the international environment evolves, China's economy has consistently maintained a strong momentum for growth.' Beijing has set an ambitious 2025 growth target of 'around 5%', although most analysts expect China will struggle to keep expanding at those rates in the coming years if a lasting truce cannot be secured with Washington. Oxford Economics expects average annual GDP growth this decade to halve from the 1999-2019 average to 4.5% and slow to 3% in the decade after. Economists say more policy support for households could ease the transition to consumption-led growth, but the shift remains politically sensitive for the ruling Communist Party, which has long tied its legitimacy to high growth - a key reason why policymakers have delayed seriously pursuing it for over a decade. Household consumption has remained at around 39% of GDP over the past two decades, according to analysts at Rhodium Group, a China-focused U.S. think tank, far below averages in OECD economies of 54%. On Tuesday, China released guidelines aimed at using financial tools to boost consumption, including pledges to support employment and raise household incomes. The International Monetary Fund last year said deeper reforms are needed to convert China's economy to one led by consumption, including pension reforms, and erecting a social safety net to reduce the need for massive precautionary savings. 'We aim to help China transition from a major manufacturing power to a colossal consumer market,' Li said. 'This will open up vast and untapped markets for businesses from many countries.'
Asahi Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan government to consider cutting this year's growth forecast, sources say
Japan's government will consider cutting its economic growth estimate for the current fiscal year ending in March 2026 due to the expected hit to global demand from U.S. tariffs, three government sources told Reuters by Wednesday. The current projection of an 1.2% expansion, made at the end of last year, could be pushed down to below 1%, the sources said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly. The government will finalize projections around the end of July, taking into account developments on U.S. tariffs, the sources said. Japan's tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is arranging his seventh visit to the United States for as early as June 26, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to push ahead with trade talks when they met in Canada but failed to achieve a tariff deal. The government produces economic growth estimates twice each year with one made around summer used as a basis for drafting the state budget for the following fiscal year. In its latest quarterly projections released on May 1, the Bank of Japan cut its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2025 to 0.5% from 1.1%, reflecting the expected hit from U.S. tariffs.
Japan Today
5 hours ago
- Japan Today
Trump says China can buy Iranian oil, but urges it to purchase US crude
An aerial view shows a crude oil tanker at an oil terminal off Waidiao island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, China January 4, 2023. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo By Timothy Gardner U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, a move that the White House clarified did not indicate a relaxation of U.S. sanctions. "China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, just days after he ordered U.S. bombings of three Iranian nuclear sites. Trump was drawing attention to no attempts by Iran so far to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, as a closure would have been hard for China, the world's top importer of Iranian oil, a senior White House official told Reuters. "The president continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions," the official said. After the ceasefire announcement, Trump's comments on China were another bearish signal for oil prices, which fell nearly 6% on Tuesday. Any relaxation of sanctions enforcement on Iran would mark a U.S. policy shift after Trump said in February he was re-imposing maximum pressure on Iran, aiming to drive its oil exports to zero, over its nuclear program and funding of militants across the Middle East. Trump imposed waves of Iran-related sanctions on several of China's independent "teapot" refineries and port terminal operators for purchases of Iranian oil. "President Trump's greenlight for China to keep buying Iranian oil reflects a return to lax enforcement standards," said Scott Modell, a former CIA officer, now CEO of Rapidan Energy Group. In addition to not enforcing sanctions, Trump could suspend or waive sanctions imposed by executive order or under authorities a president is granted in laws passed by Congress. Trump will likely not waive sanctions ahead of coming rounds of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, Modell said. The measures provide leverage given Tehran's demand that any deal includes lifting them permanently. Jeremy Paner, a partner at law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said if Trump chooses to suspend Iran oil-related sanctions, it would require lots of work between agencies. The U.S. Treasury would need to issue licenses, and the State Department would have to issue waivers, which require Congressional notification. Oil traders and analysts in Asia said they did not expect Trump's comments to have a near-term impact on Chinese purchases of oil from either Iran or the U.S. Iranian oil accounts for roughly 13.6% of China's oil purchases this year, with the discounted barrels providing a lifeline to margin-squeezed independent refineries. U.S. oil accounts for just 2% of China's imports, and Beijing's 10% tariffs on U.S. oil deter further purchases. PRESSURE ON CHINA China has long opposed what it has called Washington's "abuse of illegal unilateral sanctions." China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump's post. Larger purchases of Iranian oil by China and other consumers could upset U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter. The impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran's exports, however, has been limited since Trump's first administration when he cracked down harder on Tehran. Trump has "flashed the Glock" this year with sanctions on Chinese trading companies and terminals, Modell said, referring to revealing a gun. But the results have been far more "minimum pressure" than maximum, Modell added. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Trump had signaled what he wanted to happen and that his administration is focused on delivering that. She would not say what the process would entail. "But clearly we are focused on making sure that (the) guiding hand of President Trump prevails and moves this government forward, so we will have to wait and see when it comes to what that ends up looking like," Bruce said. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
