Recently, cross-strait relations have remained in a state of relative tension, and the fundamental reason is that the DPP authorities have repeatedly clamored for Taiwan independence arguments and engaged in political manipulation.
In this regard, the retired major general of the Taiwan military analyzed that no matter whether the PLA's move means good or bad, the Taiwan military has no choice but to passively accept it.
The point of view of the major general of the Taiwan army
According to a report by Taiwan media "China Times News Network," Li Zhengjie, a retired major general of the Taiwan military and former garrison commander of Xiaojinmen, talked about the PLA's Taiwan Strait patrol while attending a television program a few days ago, pointing out that everything in Taiwan is passive at present, and the initiative has been completely in the hands of the PLA, and the PLA can come as it wants, do whatever it wants, and are not subject to any restrictions.
Li Zhengjie, a retired major general of the Taiwan Army, attended the program
Moreover, an obvious change is that the mainland side is now accustomed to using PLA fighters to express its various expressions, and no matter whether the Taiwan authorities like it or not, and whether they make good or bad statements, they can only passively accept the proposals, and the Taiwan military has no choice but to do anything about it.
Li Zhengjie further pointed out that on the day of former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou's visit to the mainland, Taiwan's puppet defense department did not report on the day that PLA fighters were patrolling the Taiwan Strait, and no PLA warplanes and warships crossed the so-called "middle line of the strait" of the Taiwan authorities.
PLA fighter jets patrol the Taiwan Strait
In addition, after a strong earthquake struck the Taiwan region and was killed by the disaster, PLA fighters only routinely patrolled the Taiwan Strait and did not get too close to the main island of Taiwan. At the same time, however, he also pointed out that the DPP authorities obviously do not want such news to spread on the island and do not want the Taiwan people to have a good impression of the mainland.
Therefore, in their propaganda and announcements, the DPP authorities have always "only mentioned one and not the other," saying only how many fighters the PLA has dispatched to patrol, not saying that the PLA's specific action path is not too close to Taiwan Island, and does not want to show the love of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. At the end of his speech, Li Zhengjie did not think that the DPP authorities' move was worthy of affirmation, saying that "whether it is good or bad must be marked with a question mark."
The Taiwan authorities have stubbornly gone their own way and reaped the consequences
In particular, he pointed out that the DPP authorities have always had "bad intentions" in dealing with mainland-related issues, completely disregarded the truth, and made false reports and omissions to Taiwan's public opinion.
On the other hand, Li Zhengjie's view that "the mainland uses fighter planes to express its position" can be regarded as only talking about "effect" and not "cause." One point that always needs to be emphasized is that the earliest cause of the PLA's large-scale, multi-batch, and normalized sea and air linkage patrols in the Taiwan Strait that we have seen so far is actually "US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan".
At that time, the DPP authorities under the auspices of Tsai Ing-wen did their utmost to worship foreign countries and made a grand welcome to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, ignoring the "one China" principle and the mainland's repeated stern warnings.
Since five-year-old children know that they will bear the consequences and be punished for doing something wrong, there is no reason why the Taiwan authorities will continue to live their old lives as if nothing had happened after they have gone their own way and engaged in the matter of "relying on foreign countries to gain self-respect."
Pelosi and Tsai Ing-wen
The series of forceful countermeasures taken by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), including but not limited to military exercises around the island, and the regular patrols in the Taiwan Strait that have continued to this day, are in the final analysis: they were made by the Taiwan authorities themselves. Therefore, the Taiwan authorities should not say anything "uncomfortable" now, shouting that they are being targeted, and if they knew this was the case, why did they bother in the first place?
Since the DPP authorities dare to act for Taiwan independence, the mainland is bound to take targeted and forceful countermeasures, and this is an objective reality that does not depend on the willingness of the Taiwan authorities. On the other hand, the DPP authorities have so far continued to insist on going their own way and not repenting on the wrong road of Taiwan independence.
Judging from the schedule, Lai Qingde, the next leader of the DPP authorities, will officially take office on May 20, and a series of activities to build momentum have already begun.
Xiao Meiqin, a deputy in Lai's ruling team, recently visited many European countries in an attempt to win over European politicians and attend or express support for Lai's inauguration ceremony. Lai Qingde himself also issued a series of "governance plans", proposing three major items: "protecting the sovereignty of Taiwan Island", "social transformation", and "cleansing people's hearts".
Lai Qingde had previously appeared publicly during Pelosi's visit to Taiwan
To put it simply, it is nothing more than "Taiwan independence", "suppression of dissidents", and "de-Sinicization", which have been actually done during the Tsai Ing-wen administration. Now Lai Qingde is repeating the same old tune, which is nothing more than trying to prove his political propositions and ideology, which is consistent with Lai Qingde's previous public statement that "we will continue Tsai Ing-wen's governance line".
To sum up, it is foreseeable that after Lai Qingde takes over the position of the top leader of the DPP authorities, the Taiwan independence forces on the island will further expand and intensify, and we should not harbor too unrealistic illusions about them.
At the depths of the current situation in the Taiwan Strait is the game between China and the United States
Whenever we talk about the Taiwan issue, we always say: The Taiwan Strait is a chessboard, the Taiwan authorities are a chess piece, and the real chess players are actually China and the United States. It is the US intervention that is the fundamental reason for hindering and affecting the proper and reasonable settlement of the "Taiwan issue."
2024 U.S. General Election
The United States in 2024 is in the year of the general election, and this year's domestic affairs of the United States can be summed up as a sentence "everything is bigger than the election, and everything must be given priority by the election". At present, the Democratic Party authorities in power in the US Government are in an unfavorable election situation due to various factors, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict alone is "fatal enough" for the Democratic Party.
The cut off of aid to Israel and the cessation of arms supplies will inevitably provoke the right-wing forces with great political influence in the United States, as well as the pro-Israel American Jewish bloc, and the direct result will be that the Democratic Party will lose the election.
Instead of cutting off aid to Israel, continuing to hand knives to the Israeli army in creating a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, and providing a large amount of weapons and ammunition, this is tantamount to "bombing its own vote base with American bombs."
Israeli forces have been hit hard by Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza
The Democratic Party's election is based on ethnic minorities, left-wing groups, and large numbers of immigrants. This group of people is already extremely disgusted by the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Israeli army in Gaza, and has repeatedly asked the Democratic Party to stop Israel's atrocities in Gaza.
The many rounds of large-scale anti-war demonstrations and protests in the United States were caused by these people. Supplying Israel with weapons and ammunition will inevitably lead to the Democratic Party losing a large number of these basic votes, and the final result will also be a loss of the election.
Large-scale protests in solidarity with Palestine erupted in the United States
The current situation facing the Democrats is obvious, and it is purely "unpleasing to both sides", and no matter how they treat Israel, it will lead to a massive loss of votes. But it is obviously unrealistic to expect the Democrats to admit defeat in the upcoming US election.
Since it is difficult to do anything on the Israel issue, there is a high probability that the Democratic Party will make up for it from other aspects, trying to save the precarious support rate and pull back the election results through political manipulation and diverting contradictions and attention. The "Taiwan issue," which is acutely contradictory because of US interference, is likely to be the "best choice" for the Democratic Party.
In addition, there has already been a "Pelosi's visit to Taiwan", which is also a Democratic Party, which is off to a very bad start. It should be said that there is still a high possibility that Democratic politicians, who are extremely unfavorable in the election, will "take a risk" at the critical juncture when the election is approaching and imitate Pelosi's previous irresponsible behavior of seeking political interests.
In addition, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Democratic Party will play the "Taiwan card" in a different way and engage in political manipulation that is even worse in nature than "visits by high-ranking officials and dignitaries."
In short, the situation in the Taiwan Strait in the second half of 2024 is still changing and does not allow for optimism, and neither the Taiwan authorities nor the United States, which has instigated and supported them behind it, should not be taken lightly. Chinese mainland needs to maintain sufficient strategic focus, control the overall situation from a macro perspective, respond to local provocations of "US-Taiwan collusion", and be prepared to deal with all potential emergencies.
Some of the content in the article is sourced:
The United States continues to arm Taiwan, and the risks in the Taiwan Strait continue unabated
The spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense answers reporters' questions on recent military-related issues丨Xinhuanet