Foreign Affairs Minister Wu Chiu-sup said in an exclusive interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail on 21 May that Taiwan has been subjected to a “grey zone” military attack strategy by Beijing, and called on Canada to join the anti-China coalition and work with like-minded democracies to prevent China from fully occupying Taiwan by sanctioning China and strengthening trade relations with Taiwan.
Wu calls on Canada to join global anti-China coalition to stop China’s occupation of Taiwan
Wu told The Globe & Mail that “many people in Taiwan are saying that China may have started an invasion of Taiwan.” He said a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could happen “at some point” and that the risk of war is higher than in past decades, and that “the threat is more serious, more real, more alarming.”
Wu is working to build a global anti-China coalition to counter China’s expansionism, as he fears Taiwan is Beijing’s next target after its crackdown on Hong Kong, according to the Globe and Mail.
The “gray zone” war does not involve outright armed conflict, but rather uses cyber attacks, infiltration, disinformation and other means to weaken the will of the enemy, according to the Globe and Mail.
In the interview, Wu said the Chinese Communist Party has established a foothold in Taiwanese society. Taiwanese media have repeatedly reported in recent years on how China has planted Communist Party members in Taiwan’s news media, political parties, business organizations and temples to expand its influence.
Look at their infiltration activities in Taiwan; they have set up proxies in Taiwan to try to launch a disinformation campaign against Taiwan,” Wu said. You can see all kinds of fake news on the Internet or social media in Taiwan, and some of them are even picked up by the mainstream media, and we are very concerned about that.”
Wu said China’s cyber attacks have intensified over the past few years, and it has also frequently sent warplanes or bombers to infest Taiwan’s airspace, sometimes several times a day, and Taiwan has had to send warplanes into the air each time in response. Wu said, “They are trying to exhaust our air defense capabilities, and the situation is worrisome.” According to information compiled by Reuters in early December, Chinese warplanes have flown more than 100 such missions since mid-September.
Wu said Taiwan is not seeking direct military assistance from Canada, but hopes that Canada, Japan, the United States, Australia, Europe and other democracies will work together to take action against China and make it wary of advancing on Taiwan. These countries need to develop a strategy because “Taiwan is facing a military threat that no other country is facing.
Wu also praised Canada for suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, claiming that Canada, like the United States, could impose “Magnitsky” sanctions, including visa travel restrictions and the freezing of bank accounts, on Chinese officials who crack down on Hong Kong. Canada could also send a message to Beijing that it will not tolerate the increasingly aggressive actions of the Chinese Communist authorities around the world.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has warned that Chinese agents are intimidating Chinese immigrants, Uighurs, Tibetans and Hong Kong immigrants in Canada.
Wu also suggested that Canada follow the U.S. lead in closing the Confucius Institute, expelling representatives of Beijing’s state-run media, and considering an anti-infiltration law similar to Taiwan’s that would identify those working for Chinese state-run enterprises and pro-China organizations in Canada.
While Canada is considering why China has been able to penetrate deeply into Canadian society, Wu said Canada could continue to strengthen Canada-Taiwan relations in the area of trade and investment, including signing the Canada-Taiwan Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA) as soon as possible and inviting Taiwan to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); the CPTPP would help promote comprehensive free trade in the region, while the FIPA would provide legal protection for bilateral investors and enhance trade between Canada and Taiwan.
Asked why Canadians should care about Taiwan, Wu said, “All democracies should strongly support Taiwan, which is at the forefront of democracy and is facing aggression from authoritarian China.”
Asked last week if it was concerned about an invasion of Taiwan by Chinese troops, the Canadian government said Canada did not want to see the status quo suffer a change. Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Christelle Chartrand said, “Canada urges both sides of the Taiwan Strait to refrain from actions that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and to avoid moves that unilaterally alter the status quo.”
As for trade relations between Canada and Taiwan, Chartrand said Canada is reviewing how it should broadly include issues such as women, small business, and aboriginal rights in new foreign trade agreements, and therefore is currently suspending new FIPA negotiations.
Since 2020, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Ottawa has submitted nearly 20 books and arranged interviews with Canadian media.
The four proposals to prevent Chinese infiltration were all opposed by the KMT caucus
In addition, the Free Times reported that in order to prevent the infiltration of Chinese Communist Party forces, DPP legislator Wang Dingyu recently proposed the “Overseas Hostile Forces Influence Transparency Act” and proposed amendments to the “Cross-Strait People’s Relations Regulations” for Chinese Communist Party agents.
Wang believes that the “Anti-Infiltration Law” is not enough to deal with the comprehensive infiltration of the CCP, so he proposed the “Draft Law on Transparency of Influence of Hostile Forces Abroad”, hoping to ensure the public’s right to know through the prior disclosure of proxy relations;” The “Cross-Strait People’s Relations Bill” prohibits people, legal persons, organizations, and other institutions in Taiwan from engaging in activities or propaganda of any political purpose for the Chinese party, government, and military organs, related organizations, or their agents, attending or participating in meetings organized by or with them, and issuing resolutions, joint statements, or corresponding statements that endanger national security. Wang also proposed a draft amendment to some provisions of the cross-strait people’s relations regulations, hoping to strengthen the control of “Chinese investment into Taiwan” and “Taiwanese investment into China”.
Taiwan’s Chi Jin legislator Chen Peiwei proposed the “Foreign Power Agents Act”, which specifies five major agency relationships of foreign powers, including: having employment and appointment, being under their command and orders and other substantial control relationships, and having mutual agreements or engagements.
However, these four cases were opposed by the KMT in the Legislative Yuan on December 18 and were requested to be returned to the Procedures Committee for reintroduction.
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