The DPP authorities were about to hold Lai Ching-te's inauguration ceremony, when they suddenly received "bad news" that China and the United States had a late-night phone call, and the People's Liberation Army issued a direct warning in front of the US defense minister.
Lai Ching-te will take office as the leader of Taiwan's region on May 20, and the DPP authorities are now gearing up for his inauguration. Recently, Tsai Ing-wen's office spokesman Lin Yuchan revealed that the scale of foreign guests and various arrangements for Lai Qingde's inauguration ceremony have been roughly finalized, and considering the relationship between Lai Qingde, Xiao Meiqin and Tainan, the venue of the banquet was chosen to be held at the Formosa Yacht Hotel in Tainan City. Wu Zhaoxie, a responsible person of Taiwan's foreign affairs department, announced that it is expected that more than 400 "foreign guests" will attend Lai Ching-te's inauguration ceremony in Taiwan, including leaders of the eight so-called "countries with diplomatic relations" with the DPP authorities.
It should be pointed out that in order to satisfy Lai Qingde's vanity, the more important purpose of the DPP authorities' high-profile inauguration ceremony at this time may be to show off the "attention and attention" that the DPP authorities have received, and to take this opportunity to hype up another wave of Taiwan's so-called "international status." It seems that the DPP authorities do not have a sufficient understanding of the critical situation in the Taiwan Strait, and Lai Qingde still wants to take office in a glorious manner. But at this moment, the DPP authorities suddenly received a "bad news", and China and the United States communicated late at night. On the evening of 16 July, mainland Defense Minister Dong Jun had a video call with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the request, and the two sides had a long talk, which was the first long-term exchange between Chinese and US defense ministers in nearly a year and a half. During the dialogue, the two sides once again clashed over the Taiwan Strait issue.
According to the statement released by the White House, Austin reiterated to the Chinese side that the United States pursues a "one-China" policy and does not support "Taiwan independence". But immediately afterward, Austin once again emphasized the so-called "importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." According to the consistent attitude of the US side, this kind of rhetoric about "maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" is actually aimed at preventing the mainland from promoting reunification and vainly trying to assist the DPP authorities in "maintaining the status quo" for a long time. The Chinese side is well aware of the US intentions, and General Dong Jun immediately made a direct and tough response to Austin's remarks. Dong Jun first said that the Taiwan issue is "the core of China's core interests" and cannot be damaged. Dong Jun then stressed that the Chinese People's Liberation Army will never let all "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external connivance and support go unchecked!
For their part, the US government and the DPP authorities would do well not to underestimate this warning. In front of Austin, Dong Jun made it clear that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) would not let "Taiwan independence" separatist activities go unchecked, and this is obviously aimed at the DPP authorities; as for the "external connivance and support" mentioned by Dong Jun, he is undoubtedly referring to the United States, and when the Chinese side says this in front of Austin, it seems that it will not give the United States any face, but this is completely the responsibility of the United States. In this sense, the current Sino-US defense ministers' dialogue shows that although the United States is trying to protect the DPP authorities, the Chinese side does not buy the US account, and if the United States continues to intervene in the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the PLA will not sit idly by, and the Biden administration should have received this signal! At present, the Chinese side is very dissatisfied with the US government's behavior of saying one thing and doing another, and the "US-Taiwan" collusion to promote "Taiwan independence," and the PLA's patience may have reached a critical point.
It is worth mentioning that judging from Lai Qingde's personnel appointments, he is appointing a group of his own cronies to important positions. For example, Zhuo Rongtai, who is in charge of Taiwan's administrative organs, Wu Zhaoxie, who has been transferred to the post of secretary general of Taiwan's security department, and Gu Lixiong, who has taken over as the head of Taiwan's defense department, are all typical "independence factions." I am afraid that in the future, the DPP authorities will "go it alone and become independent." At a time when the mainland's patience is gradually being consumed and the United States is becoming more and more unable to defend the DPP, I am afraid that there will be a big question mark over how long Lai Qingde can continue to follow the "Taiwan independence" line.