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TAIPEI, Taiwan – A senior Chinese official in charge of Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office upped the ante last week as he told the People's Daily, China's government-run newspaper, the reunification of the two countries was, 'approaching.'
The comments follow months of heightened rhetoric from Beijing. On Friday, Taiwan's ministry of national defense said nine Chinese military jets crossed the ‘median line,’ which resulted in Taiwan scrambling jets in response.
Daily Post Digital recently went to Taiwan's capital city of Taipei to take the pulse of some locals on their views of a potential Chinese invasion, U.S. support for Taiwan, their message to President Joe Biden and other issues.
FILE: In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location
(Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)
"There's no point, even if I am afraid, we live on this land, there's nothing we can do but to fight back. If that happens, no matter where you are, if someone invades you, you have to fight back, or you die. You might also die fighting so why not fight back?" one man told Daily Post Digital on the prospect of a Chinese invasion.
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Speaking in Zhongshan district of the capital, people who spoke to Daily Post Digital seemed bullish on the prospect of war with China.
"Taiwan is now more recognized by the world. If China invaded Taiwan 20 or 30 years ago, other countries would not bother to get involved, but now the world sees how much Taiwan has grown over the past decade. So if China really wants to invade, Taiwan's weapons are also very advanced and our military will not be weak," a second man said.
The United States does not have official relations with Taiwan but has been stepping up engagement with the island as China seeks to isolate it from global institutions.
"It appears to me that compared to Trump, who is more against China, Biden is more neutral at this moment. I haven't seen him really planning to do anything towards China or Taiwan," a young woman said when asked about U.S. support for Taiwan. "Feels like he's more peace. U.S. is like if the enemy doesn't move, I won't make any move. So no need to make a stand as long as nobody starts a war."
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (R) listens while inspecting reservists training at a military base in Taoyuan on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP) (Photo by SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)
While none of those speaking opted to give their names, support for Former President Donald Trump's Taiwan efforts seemed significant.
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"Since Trump's time, Taiwan's military power has improved a lot. On one side, Taiwan is developing its technology, which the Americans can certainly see." The first man said an invasion from China would face an even harder fight compared to Taiwan's past military abilities.
"If they did invade Taiwan back then, Taiwan would be in great danger. Taiwan's military power was nowhere near where we are today. Our military power has improved a lot in the past few years. If China decides to invade Taiwan, it would be a lose-lose. It wouldn't be a win for China either."
The second man agreed, "Of course we need to fight back because that's the only way we have to have a result. If we lose, then we return back to China, if we win, then we become independent. It's that simple. If we don't fight, they will always take advantage of us, saying we are part of China."
The People's Republic of China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, the relatively narrow strip of ocean between the island of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. The Chinese military has frequently sent planes into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ,) testing Taiwan's air defense response.
"For China, I think they have always considered Taiwan as a part of them. Therefore, they wouldn't be too impulsive. Plus, Taiwan's leadership and all aspects of technology companies are very important. So if war is triggered, it will affect the economy of the whole world and the overall stability will be affected. So I don't think China will be able to fight Taiwan so quickly and so impulsively," the unnamed woman told Daily Post Digital.
The three people who Daily Post Digital spoke to responded to questions on what their message would be to President Biden.
Taiwanese soldiers salute during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan. Resident of the capital city told Daily Post Digital the military is much better positioned to fight back against a potential Chinese invasion.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
"I hope you will support us if needed," said the young woman while another man said, "You should protect Taiwan. Protecting Taiwan brings the most benefit to the U.S."
"I hope he will fight for freedom for every small and weak country. This is the voice of every weak and small country. It's because the country is not strong enough. Therefore, it gets bullied and attacked. No one attacks the U.S. or the U.K. because they are strong enough." the second man said.
"Taiwan is just too small, even if we have weapons, China has 1.4 billion people we only have 20 million. Afterwards, China would still be a country, but Taiwan would be demolished and be gone forever. So there is a need to fight for freedom."
On China's support for Putin's war against Ukraine and whether it could embolden China in its quest to take over Taiwan, the Taipei local said he thinks something might be in the works as Xi Jinping closes in on another unprecedented term as leader of the People's Republic of China.
"Of course, he wants to make some big move, but in terms of China's economy, he has to be carefully considering the consequences of his actions. Especially now there are some high-tech products in Taiwan which are being used all over the world. If Taiwan is under attack, it won't be beneficial to the rest of the world," the first man told Daily Post Digital.
Daily Post' Timothy HJ Nerozzi contributed to this article.
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