China's recent aggressive moves on India, Hong Kong and South China Sea does not mean an invasion of Taiwan is next
Asia Times
Date: August 19, 2020
By: Denny Roy
J15 fighter jets on China’s sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill at sea in April 23, 2018. Photo: AFP
They give a variety of reasons for the prediction: because Taiwan is the logical next target after Hong Kong; because Taiwan is increasingly uninterested in being ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government in Beijing; because Beijing’s effectual renunciation of the “one country, two systems” arrangement for Hong Kong indicates an increasing assertiveness and willingness to take risks; and because a Taiwan invasion would fit with China’s recent pattern of reckless foreign policies.
There is no question the Beijing government wants badly to make Taiwan a province of the PRC. Beijing considers Taiwan the last and most consequential of the Chinese territories wrested away by foreigners during the “Century of Humiliation.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said his “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” is not possible without Taiwan’s political unification with the mainland. But these are long-standing sentiments. The question is why Beijing would insist it must happen now. [FULL STORY]