Taiwan Says China's Expansionism Could Start World War 3

By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: December 5th, 2021 08:20AM UTC
Last Modified: December 5th, 2021 08:20AM UTC

TAIPEI - Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu says that China's military expansionism could lead to world war 3 and emphasized the fact that if the Chinese government invades Taiwan, it would seriously impact the 'global strategy'.

"Taiwan is right on the front line against the Chinese expansionism" Wu told Sky News on their weekly program 'Global Focus'.

"The Chinese government has been exercising its expansionism by using force, and that is something that we need to watch out very carefully. It caused the Second World War, and we don't hope that it will cause the third war" he said.

"If the Chinese government, the authoritarian China, takes over Taiwan, I'm sure it's going to have a very serious impact on the global strategy".

Wu said that China would 'take Taiwan over' using force, likely through a cross strait invasion. He also said that the move would allow China to 'divert' the focus from the current domestic issues its having.

"China is trying to claim that Taiwan is part of it, and it's vowed to take Taiwan over through peaceful means if possible and true forceful means, if necessary" he stated.

"They would like to seek external crisis or conflict in order to divert the domestic attention. And unfortunately, Taiwan stands right next to China, and it may become a very convenient scapegoat for the authoritarian Chinese government".

"China is trying to expand itself. And after Hong Kong, many people think that Taiwan is the next target of the Chinese government".

"If the Chinese government launches an attack against Taiwan, that will be seen as a tragedy for… democracy throughout the rest of the world".

"I would say that Taiwan's responsibility in safeguarding our sovereignty and safeguarding our democratic way of life is critically important".

Wu said that the country of Taiwan has to be 'very cautious' in how it deals with China so as to avoid a military confrontation with its 'much more powerful adversary'.

"We are pursuing a very cautious, very prudent policy toward China. (We will) Try not to antagonize China or try not to provoke China in order to prevent war from taking place" Wu stated.

"We also try constantly to invite the Chinese for negotiations to resolve the differences in between Taiwan and China. Our hope is to have a peaceful and stable situation in this part of the world".

"We also need to strengthen our military capability. In the last few years we have been making more and more investment in military so that Taiwan is able to defend itself".

"They claim the Taiwan Strait is China. They claim that Taiwan belongs to China, and they also claim that whole South China Sea belongs to China, and they also even got into border skirmishes with India".

"Taiwan locates right at the centre of the first island chain, and if you look at the course of the expansion of… Chinese authoritarianism, they have to cross the first island chain in order to reach out to the wider Pacific and therefore Taiwan is strategically important".

"This is what's happening to the authoritarianism, and they will continue to expand beyond the first island chain into the Pacific, into the South China Sea or even into the Indian Ocean".

As far as China's claims that Taiwan is a part of China, Wu said "Taiwan has not been ruled by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) for even a single day".

"Taiwan is not a part of the PRC, and this is the historical fact, and this is also the status quo of the Taiwan Strait".

"The status quo serves the best interests of all parties concerned, and we need to safeguard the status quo that Taiwan is not run by the PRC".

Wu said that the Taiwanese population does not want to operate under the 'one country, two systems model'. "An absolute majority of the people here in Taiwan do not entertain the one country, two systems model, an absolute majority of the people here in Taiwan would like to preserve the status quo".

"Here in Taiwan, people would not do anything to give up their way of life". The people here in Taiwan would like to preserve the status quo and the government here in Taiwan, because of the democracy, we respect the majority public opinion".