Taiwan has been invaded – and this is not clickbait. The Chinese island really has been invaded: by the United States.
An invasion is when troops from one country get their boots on and go violate agreements in another country.
And Greater China is one country. The One China principle has been accepted for decades, by the mainland Chinese and the people of Taiwan and the United Nations and the United States and pretty much every country in the world.
This report can be read as a feature article (scroll down) or viewed as a video (below).
US COMMUNIQUE SAYS IT PLAINLY
Check out this communique from the 1970s, which explains the fundamental position, long before the recent US attempts to cross red lines and destroy the status quo that has kept this region peaceful for many decades:
“The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position. It reaffirms its interest in a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question by the Chinese themselves.”
THAT is the status quo position, the stance agreed by mainland people AND Taiwan people AND the world in general.
At that time, America pledged it would not stir up trouble in the region by stirring up division, sending in troops, arming the island, or making official visits.
In recent years, it has done all four things. Repeatedly.
We could give you a long list of examples, but will just offer two.
ARRIVAL OF TROOPS
Three years ago, Taiwan people said that the US had sent troops to their island. In November 2020, the Pentagon denied it.
Almost a year later, in October of 2021, the Pentagon admitted that actually, there were US troops in Taiwan and they had been there for at least a year! The Taiwanese had been telling the truth.
Now of course, the US is blithely sending more troops.
VISITS OF OFFICIALS
Here’s another example.
From 1979 onwards, the US abided by its promise to send no senior officials to Taiwan.
But from September 2020, top government officials and politicians started a long string of visits to Taiwan, and they’ve going ever since.
In 2021, we started compiling a list of US violations of the status quo, but there were so many we gave up.
THE TRUTH ABOUT INVASION THREATS
But but but, I can hear some of you say. China threatened to invade the island of Taiwan!
Actually, it did no such thing. I mean, first, you can’t invade your own country – and both sides agree that it is one country.
But the main point is this: China has held the same stance for decades, literally. It says that it will take military action if someone (read the Pentagon or its agents in Taiwan) upsets the status quo by making the island declare independence, but its preference was eventual reunification.
Deng Xiaoping wrote the policy, and it says, in print, that the country will wait for full reunification whether it takes 100 years or 1000 years.
In other words, Mainland China said decades ago that it was happy to maintain the status quo until people were ready for reunification. And they have waited. They can afford to.
China is already the largest, most dynamic, economy in Asia, and Chinese people know that it’s only a matter of time before the Taiwanese decide they want to be part of the developing miracle that is taking place right before their eyes.
SECRET WEAPON
You see, what really worries the US administration is this: China’s has a very, very powerful secret weapon. It is called patience.
Now this whole position worries the Pentagon, so it keeps inventing dates at which China will invade Taiwan, and then feeding them out through the media.
Here’s an example. The invasion is about to start any minute now, the media announced. That was two years ago. I mean, there are numerous headlines like this.
The key fact is this: The people of Mainland China and the people of Taiwan want the exact same thing: the maintenance of a peaceful status quo until the time is right to peacefully move to a different relationship.
Now some of my colleagues in the media have not been helpful.
They paint a picture of Taiwan being a terrified, besieged community who have been living in dread of invasion for years. Not so! Just go and visit the place. It’s a nice place, great people, yummy food, cool atmosphere.
More than 100,000 Taiwanese have been visiting, working, studying, interacting with people on the Chinese mainland in recent years. Here is a recent picture from a student exchange involving mainland and Taiwanese young people.
The relationship between the two sides has been getting steadily stronger and warmer.
Which of course is why the US has to upset the status quo.
Even now, with all the “let’s prepare for war” talk from the media in the west and Australia, there are ten active air routes between Taiwan and cities on the Chinese mainland. And the ferry connections are increasing too.
A peaceful future is coming into view.
Let’s not let hostile outside forces spoil that.
As Laotzu said, there’s only one thing you need to turn a glass of cloudy water into a glass of clear water: patience.
Peace.
Image at the top by Carl Weingarten/ Pexels.