Source: SupChina (4/1/22)
What’s behind Taiwan’s willingness to extend compulsory military service?
After Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February, talk in Taiwan of extending the conscription period of its citizens — from four months to one year — became elevated in official discourse.
By Itamar Waksman

Illustration for SupChina by Derek Zheng

The war in Ukraine, contrary to popular punditry, tells us very little about Taiwan’s situation vis-a-vis mainland China. But one change that the war may spur is the length of the compulsory military service requirement of Taiwan’s male citizens.

Last November, Taiwan People’s Party legislator Jang Chyi-lu (张其禄 Zhāng Qílù) asked Minister of National Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱国正 Qiū Guózhèng) if Taiwan’s current four-month conscription period was enough to ensure sufficient forces to defend Taiwan, especially considering other countries in the region, such as South Korea and Singapore, have two years of mandatory service. Chiu replied that the ministry was considering its options.

After Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February, talk in Taiwan of extending the conscription period became elevated in official discourse.

At a March 14 meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s internal affairs committee, responding to a legislator’s question on how Taiwan must improve its defenses, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐国勇 Xú Guóyǒng) said, “If the country can be sustained, safe, continue developing, and survive, what does one year [of service] over four months matter?” Continue reading →

Source: NYT (3/1/22)
Watching the War in Ukraine, Taiwanese Draw Lessons in Self-Reliance
Many in Taiwan see parallels with Ukraine. “We must use this time of peace to prepare for the worst,” says a nonprofit working to promote civil defense.
By Amy Qin and Amy Chang Chien

Demonstrators in front of Russia’s de facto embassy in Taipei in February. For many in Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reinforced their embrace of the island’s democratic values. Credit…Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Justin Huang, a 23-year-old recent university graduate in Taiwan, has been gripped by news of the crisis, just like many other people around the world. He has pored over reports about Ukrainians signing up for the military and scrutinized video footage of Russian missiles hitting residential buildings. He has been deeply disturbed by Russia’s brazen disregard for global norms.

But for Mr. Huang and many Taiwanese, Russia’s assault is hitting especially close to home.

The self-governed island democracy has long faced the threat of being absorbed by the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, which has vowed to do so by force if it deems necessary. As Taiwanese watch Russian troops pour into Ukraine, their unease about their island’s own future is growing. The courage of Ukrainians, as well as the harsh reality of that country’s lonely battle, has driven a greater sense of urgency among many Taiwanese to step up the island’s defenses.

“Reading the news has been a bit traumatic emotionally,” Mr. Huang said. Moved by a sense of solidarity with Ukraine, he and around 200 other people protested on Saturday outside Russia’s de facto embassy in Taipei. He said he feared that the invasion of Ukraine could be the “tipping point” in the world order, ushering in a new era in which autocrats could act with impunity. Continue reading →

Source: NYT (2/7/22)
Both Sides of Taiwan Strait Are Closely Watching Ukraine’s Crisis
Taiwan knows what it’s like to have an overbearing neighbor. China wonders how forcefully Western powers might react to a Russian invasion.
By Steven Lee Myers and Amy Qin

A view of the South China Sea last year, with the Chinese city of Xiamen in the distance and the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen in the foreground. Credit…An Rong Xu/Getty Images

BEIJING — With Russia massing troops along Ukraine’s borders, President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan felt compelled to act.

She ordered the creation of a task force to study how the confrontation thousands of miles away in Europe could affect Taiwan’s longstanding conflict with its larger, vastly more powerful neighbor.

“Taiwan has faced military threats and intimidation from China for a long time,” Ms. Tsai told a gathering of her national security advisers late last month, according to a statement by her office.

Perhaps more than people in any other place in the world, Taiwanese know what it is like to live in the shadow of an overbearing power, with China claiming the island as its own. Ms. Tsai added, “we empathize with Ukraine’s situation.”

While the correlation is not exact, the confrontation between Russia and the United States over Ukraine’s fate has resonated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, highlighting the strategic calculus China and Taiwan have made about the possibility of armed conflict. Continue reading →

Source: The Guardian (1/28/22)
China’s ambassador to US warns of possible military conflict over Taiwan
Unusually explicit reference to prospect of war comes as tensions over island’s future continue to rise
By Vincent Ni China affairs correspondent

‘The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States,’ Qin Gang has said. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

China’s ambassador to the US has said the two countries could face a “military conflict” over the future of Taiwan, in an unusually explicit reference to the prospect of war.

“The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States,” Qin Gang told the US public broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR), on Friday. “If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict.”

Tensions over the island’s place in the world continue to grow. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province of China. In November the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, told Joe Biden that any support for Taiwanese independence from the US would be “like playing with fire” and that “those who play with fire will get burned”. Continue reading →