New Taiwan President to China: Stop Threatening Taiwan 2024-05-21 01:39

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. A strategic U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan, is welcoming its new president for the next four years. William Lai sent Beijing a warning from across the strait immediately after taking office. I also want to call on China to stop threatening Taiwan politically and militarily. Beijing lashing out on Taiwan's inauguration day, hitting Boeing and other U.S. defense contractors with Chinese sanctions. China and Russia are reacting to the Iranian president's death. What we know about the plane crash that took his life. And two Chinese nationals are facing federal charges in the U.S. over a scam known as pig butchering. They allegedly used the fraud scheme to launder tens of millions of dollars. Stopped threatening Taiwan. That's the word from Taiwan's new president, William Lai, after being sworn in on Monday. In his inauguration speech, he said peace is the only way to move forward, urging Beijing to respect the will of the Taiwanese people. NTD's Taiwan correspondent, Qi Ling Cheng, has more from the inauguration site. William Lai is assuming office as Taiwan's next president today, and tensions are running high. The Chinese Communist Party blasted military might recently. Chinese aircraft and ships were spotted in the strait, separating the mainland China and Taiwan. I also want to call on China to stop threatening Taiwan politically and militarily, to take on global responsibility for the maintenance of peace and stability, and to ensure the world is free from the fear of war. We have the ideal to pursue peace, but we must not have illusions. As long as China does not give up using force to invade Taiwan, citizens must understand this. Even if we accept all of China's claims and give up our sovereignty, China's ambition to annex Taiwan will not disappear. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended the inauguration ceremony, while the Biden administration sent a group of former officials to observe the event, marking bipartisan U.S. support for Taiwan. The United States is going to continue to deliver on our longstanding commitment to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. The CCP sees Taiwan as part of China, and has pledged to take control of it by force if necessary. Taiwan is one of America's major allies in the region, and among those pushing back against Beijing. Reporting from Taipei, Chi-Ling Chan, NTD News. Lai received congratulations from politicians and delegations from the 12 nations that maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, as well as politicians from the U.S., Japan, and Europe. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai, saying the U.S. looks forward to working with him to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Tokyo sent a delegation to meet with Taiwan's new president. Its members expressed hope to bridge the gap between Japan and Taiwan. On the other hand, China's foreign ministry lashed out at Lai, and refused to acknowledge him as the Taiwanese president, instead calling him a regional leader. Beijing also stressed that it would take control of Taiwan eventually, no matter what political change takes place on the island. Also on Monday, China condemned the U.S. and other countries for attending Taiwan's inauguration. Russia likewise accused the U.S. and its allies of escalating tensions over Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having ruled the island, and has threatened to take control of Taiwan by force if necessary. Residents from China and Taiwan voiced mixed reactions as Taiwan's new leader stepped up, and discussed the potential challenges now facing the cross-strait relations between Beijing and Taipei. Watch. I don't think he needs to say anything, and China will have a big reaction no matter what. Anything he says is just an opportunity for China to pick on his words. Taiwan residents urged Lai to lead and make the right decision for the people, and not to be afraid of Beijing's coercion. Some echoed his statement that China and Taiwan are not subordinate to each other, a China policy former president Tsai Ing-wen had taken. Lai and Tsai are both part of Taiwan's ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party. Our point of view is more like we care about the economy of China, so what we expect that this can be solved in a peaceful way instead of a conflict that will impact a lot of people in both places. Beijing has lashed out at Lai, calling him a separatist, and reportedly launched disinformation campaigns against him during the January election. Despite that, Lai received wide support from Taiwan residents. Beijing has ramped up Air Force and Navy pressure against Taiwan since Lai got elected. The U.S. has repeatedly urged Beijing to stop the escalation. Why should the U.S. defend Taiwan against aggression from the Chinese Communist regime? Victoria Coates, former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump and Vice President of the Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation, says the defense of Taiwan is vital to U.S. national security interests. NTD's Steve Lantz sat down with Coates for more. Victoria Coates, thank you so much for joining. Of course, good to be with you. Why is Taiwan such a unique United States ally? First of all, it's geography. Taiwan does not exist in any way in a vacuum and is part of that first island chain. If you look at a map that runs right up to Japan, also very closely situated vis-à-vis the Philippines, and we have treaty alliances with both the Philippines and Japan, so that creates a direct interest. And then there's the achievements that Taiwan has accomplished over its many decades of existence, especially since democratization in the 80s and 90s. And Taiwan is the number four country on Heritage's Index of Economic Freedom. They've made extraordinary advances in terms of both the semiconductor chips that most people know about. We can talk about that a little bit more if you want. I now know enough to be dangerous. But also in manufacturing, and there are a series of other activities that are unique to the island. And so we concluded in the report, as Dr. Roberts said yesterday, that yes, indeed, the defense of Taiwan is in the vital national security interests of the United States. So what policies could or should the United States be enacting to deter China from their regional ambitions in the Indo-Pacific? I would say that we actually just need to make good on our commitments. And the other nice thing about Taiwan is they are a full-paying customer. They're not asking for aid. They're asking for expedited sales. But we're hugely in arrears in delivering the things that they want to buy. So I think working with Congress so we can facilitate those foreign military sales, make it clear that we are going to expedite the sales to the Philippines, to Japan, and to Taiwan itself, so that these good treaty allies, as I said, who are expanding their defense budgets, Japan most notably, can have the materials to defend themselves that they need, and make it clear to China that we're not just going to cede the island to them. Make them think again, literally. Victoria Coates, really appreciate your perspective. Thank you. Of course. Thank you. China hit Boeing and two other U.S. defense contractors with sanctions Monday. That's for selling arms to Taiwan. The sanctions come the same day Taiwan's new president was sworn in. The sanctions would prevent Boeing, as well as defense contractors General Atomics and General Dynamics Land Systems from investing in China. Their senior management would also be barred from entering China. The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but sells weapons to the island so it can defend itself. China also previously sanctioned other U.S. defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Important to note, Raytheon CEO Greg Hay said last year that it would be impossible for the company to decouple from China because it has thousands of suppliers in the country. He added he believes this is the case, quote, for everybody. Raytheon is one of the largest defense companies in the U.S. Hayes went on to explain that Raytheon relies on rare earth from China for its weapons production, and over 95 percent of rare earth minerals are processed in China. If Raytheon had to pull out of China, it would take them many years to establish that China and Russia extending condolences to Iran. This after its president was killed in a helicopter crash Sunday. The president, Abraham Raisi, is the second most powerful person in the country. He's widely seen as a potential successor after the supreme leader. The cause of the plane crash is unknown. State media say it happened because of a rough landing in thick fog. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said China lost a good friend. Russia's Putin called it a huge tragedy. Iran is an ally to both China and Russia. While Western sanctions have gutted Iran's economy, China's purchase of Iranian oil has become a lifeline. The West accuses Iran of supplying Russia with missiles for its war on Ukraine. Some analysts say Iran's policy won't see a big shift, as its supreme leader has the ultimate say. He has arranged for the vice president to become the interim president, while an election will be held in 50 days. Two Chinese nationals charged in a cryptocurrency scam known as pig butchering. They allegedly used the scheme to launder more than 73 million dollars. The two suspects were identified as a citizen of China and a California resident. The two are accused of engaging in an increasingly common scam known as pig butchering. It involves scammers building up a trusting relationship with victims before persuading them into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency investments. Scammers then cut off communication with the victims and run away with their investment money. Criminals search for potential victims using dating apps and social media sites. The two defendants are alleged to have managed an international syndicate instructing co-conspirators to open U.S. accounts in the names of dozens of shell companies. The defendants ran the scheme from about August of 2021 to April this year. Switching gears to the South China Sea, the Philippines is urging China to open its claims to the Scarborough Shoal to international scrutiny. This after the island's officials accused Beijing of destroying its environment. As clearly shown by the Philippine Coast Guard, we have definitive proof of environmental destruction and degradation inside Pakudamasindo. China attempting to seize the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and now claims virtually the entire South China Sea as part of its own territory. That's despite an international tribunal ruling that Beijing's claim had no legal basis. The island's officials presented surveillance pictures showing Chinese fishermen salvaging large numbers of giant clams at Pakudamasindo, a prominent fishing area in the shoal. In the photos, parts of the coral bedrock in the region appear to be scarred in the clam harvesting process. In recent years, there have been reports of Chinese warships blocking Philippine Coast Guards and fishermen from entering shoals and reefs in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the Philippines has deployed a vessel to keep a closer watch on the Sabina Shoal. Officials said China is trying to build an artificial island there, an accusation Beijing denied. Recently released footage shows dead and crushed corals piling up on the sand bars, altering their sizes and elevation. Sabina Shoal is located within the Philippines' maritime jurisdiction, roughly 40 miles east of the second Thomas Shoal. That's where the two countries have frequent confrontations. Over the years, Beijing has militarized a number of islands in the South China Sea, equipping them with missile systems, lasers and more. The regime's activities have prompted environmental concerns in the region. That's all for today's China In Focus on YouTube. We're now sharing a shortened version of our program here after being demonetized for three years. If you'd like to support us, consider donating. Find us at donorbox.org slash china-in-focus or subscribe to our partner platform, Epic TV, where you can watch our full episodes. Just click the link down below. Here's what to look out for in our second half. Tit for tat investigations. Beijing launching a probe into specialized imports from the U.S. and the European Union following news of President Biden's tariff hikes. A closer look at how the West is combating Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Congress now digging into the Chinese regime's political and military control over developing nations. More on how China is using infrastructure projects to expand its global influence. And could your new car be tied to human rights abuses in China? A Senate inquiry reveals a shocking link between luxury cars and forced labor under the Chinese communist regime. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Thanks for watching China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. See you tomorrow.