TAIPEI, Taiwan—The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is more concerned about advancing toward hegemony than realizing its dream of territorial integrity, according to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.
Lai made the remark in an interview with a Taiwanese television program aired on Sept. 1 to mark his first 100 days in office. He noted that although Beijing often brings up the issue of territorial integrity to justify its ambitions to seize the self-ruled island, the CCP does not use the same rhetoric about historically Chinese territories in Russia.
“China’s intention to attack and annex Taiwan is not because of what any one person or political party in Taiwan says or does. It is not for the sake of territorial integrity that China wants to annex Taiwan,” Lai said.
“If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [China] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the Treaty of Aigun? Russia is now at its weakest, right?” he added.
The Qing Dynasty signed the Treaty of Aigun in 1858, ceding over a vast tract of land in what is now Russia’s far east to the Russian Empire. The land comprises much of the present-day border along the Amur River.
Lai suggested that China bring up the treaty and ask Russia to return the land.
Since China doesn’t, Lai added, “it’s obvious they don’t want to invade Taiwan for territorial reasons.”
The CCP considers Lai a “separatist” and has escalated cross-strait tension since his election victory in January. Days after Lai was sworn in, Beijing launched what it called “punishment “military drills encircling Taiwan.
In 2023, Joseph Wu, then-Taiwan’s foreign minister under Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, warned that the Chinese regime is “more likely” to invade Taiwan in 2027.
CIA Director William Burns also warned last year that CCP leader Xi Jinping had instructed his military to be prepared for a 2027 invasion.
Beijing’s real reason for wanting to seize Taiwan, Lai said, is to change the rules-based international order.
“It wants to achieve hegemony in the international area, in the Western Pacific—that is its real aim,” the president said.
Taiwan is located on the first island chain, which runs from Japan southward through Taiwan and the Philippines and onward to Malaysia. The first island chain is considered a barrier that prevents China from having easy access to the Pacific Ocean for its naval and air forces.
Challenging the US
Akio Yaita, a Japanese political commentator and journalist, stated that he agreed with Lai’s assessment of China’s intention to annex Taiwan, according to a Sept. 2 Facebook post.
“Russia, now in the middle of a war, has seen a decline in its national power. If China wants to get its land back, it should be a good opportunity. Maybe it can be done just by spending some money. It is unknown why China continues to privately provide Russia with a lot of assistance without making any demand,” Yaita wrote.
Amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the Biden administration has sanctioned Chinese companies for providing machine tools and electronic components to the Russian military.
Yaita also pointed out that the Chinese regime under former CCP leader Jiang Zemin also handed over land to Russia in the 1990s.
“What Xi Jinping wants to oppose is the free democratic camp headed by the United States. And Russia is China’s accomplice. The belief that ‘Taiwan’s independence will lead to war’ is just a random excuse for China,” Yaita concluded.
Chiu Chih-wei, a legislator from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, echoed Lai’s comment in a Facebook post on Sept. 3, adding that Beijing also has a hardline attitude toward its territorial claim in the South China Sea.
“China’s reunification of Taiwan is not only to eliminate the government that fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War, but it also symbolizes China’s rise as a great power and its challenge to the United States,” Chiu wrote.
The Republic of China (ROC), which is Taiwan’s official name, was founded in 1912 in China. The ROC government, under Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, relocated to Taiwan in 1949 after losing control of China to Mao Zedong’s communist forces in the Chinese Civil War.
Reuters contributed to the report.
