Taiwanʼs foreign ministry stated it disagreed with the "one country, two systems" model proposed by China in a new version of the White Paper.
This is reported by Reuters.
The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Joan Ou, emphasized that only the people of Taiwan decide their future. According to her, China used the recent visit of the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, as an excuse to bully Taiwan, making it the new norm of its policy.
The day before, the Chinese government published the "White Book” (“White Paper”), which it issues every two years. It outlines the countryʼs defense strategy. In a separate newsletter, entitled "Taiwan Question and Chinaʼs Unification in the New Era", the Chinese authorities promote the thesis of the inevitability of "complete reunification of the motherland". Beijing emphasizes that it is "ready to create a wide space for peaceful reunification", but does not rule out a forceful scenario of capturing the island, noting that "non-peaceful means will be used as a last resort in a situation where there is no choice."
The White Paper also notes that after becoming a part of China, Taiwan will be able to have extended autonomy, such as Hong Kong, for a long time. However, the events of recent years show that China is gradually imposing its laws on the autonomies.
- On August 3, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, arrived in Taiwan for an official one-day visit. She became the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. In protest, China imposed sanctions on Pelosi and began four days of military exercises surrounding Taiwan. After these exercises, he reported on new ones and declared that they would be "regular" from now on. Taiwan said the latest drills were like a "rehearsal for taking over the island".
- On August 9, China announced the continuation of military exercises around Taiwan — during them, operations on "joint defense and joint blockade of the island" will be practiced.
- At the same time, the Taiwanese army began artillery exercises in preparation for the islandʼs defense against a possible Chinese attack.