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China renews threat, warns Taiwan independence will be ‘punished’
Al JazeeraNov 28, 2022
The Facts
Amid the waning COVID pandemic and soaring military tensions across the Taiwan Strait, a group of six Chinese officials visited Taiwan this weekend to attend a cultural event, the first such visit in three years.
Led by the deputy head of Shanghai's Taiwan Affairs Office Li Xiaodong, they arrived in Taipei on Saturday during the Lantern Festival to hold talks with local government officials. The delegation was invited by mayor Chiang Wan-an of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
The Chinese delegation's visit to Taiwan has prompted domestic tensions around the relationship with the People's Republic of China. Though the party itself is quite ideologically diverse, KMT's leadership is colluding with the enemy, an aggressive state that threatens the island's independence by military force. The KMT's relationship with Beijing is dangerous.
Pro-China narrative
The KMT party rightly welcomed Beijing's delegation with open arms, as it is important for both Chinese and Taiwanese authorities to work together as the mainland pursues a peaceful unification with its neighbor. The fact that Beijing has suspended import sanctions and KMT's Andrew Hsia called for loosening travel restrictions shows that, though its the opposition party, some Taiwanese officials are prepared to conduct civil diplomacy with the mainland.
