Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu discussed Taiwan’s unique global position in the context of China and Russia’s “no limits” friendship July 4.
The interview was incorporated into German director Alexander Grawe’s documentary, “Putin and Xi: Pact against the West,” which was televised July 25 on the Mainz, Germany-based public broadcast channel Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. According to the MOFA, the program, which is also available on ZDF’s website, analyzes the threat that the partnership between China and Russia poses to democracies around the world.
Wu stated that Xi’s rule has been marked by an unceasing consolidation of power. His economic and epidemic policies, as well as the clampdowns in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, further demonstrate the Chinese leader’s authoritarian ambitions, the minister said.
Xi has also expanded China’s geopolitical influence into the East and South China Seas, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Taiwan Strait, though this is only one method by which the Chinese government attempts to disrupt the peace, Wu said. Long-term military threats and information warfare, hybrid warfare, and cognitive operations are other factors, the minister said, adding that Taiwan is undeterred in its resolve to defend itself and takes great inspiration from Ukraine’s tactics and spirit in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Wu said that the outbreak of a war would cause economic disaster on a global scale and referenced the G7 leaders’ statement earlier this year that reiterated the importance of maintaining cross-strait peace. A war in the Taiwan Strait is neither imminent nor unavoidable as long as global society keeps a watchful eye on the region and Taiwan continues its cooperation with other democratic countries, the minister concluded.
Apart from Wu, the MOFA said that other prominent figures interviewed in the documentary include former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, former United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Volker Stanzel, formerly Germany’s ambassador to China. (POC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw