“Shattered Skulls”
Beijing threatens independence supporters in Taiwan with bloodshed
23.05.2024, 10:21 a.m.
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
After the inauguration of the new Taiwanese president, China’s foreign ministry spokesman chose drastic words in the direction of “dangerous separatists”. He not only announces “complete unification” with the island nation, but also a bloodbath.
A few days after the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, China issued a drastic threat of bloodshed to Taiwan’s independence supporters. “The independence forces will end up with smashed skulls and blood” after being confronted with China’s “grand” plan of “complete unification” with Taiwan, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin in Beijing. He called the current Chinese military exercises around Taiwan a “serious warning.”
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland, using military force if necessary. For several years now, Beijing has regularly sent fighter planes and warships near the island.
In the morning, the Chinese army began two days of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, with military aircraft and naval vessels circling the island. The drills are a “harsh punishment for the separatist actions of Taiwan’s independence forces” and a “strong warning against interference and provocation by external forces,” military spokesman Li Xi said. The new Taiwanese president, whom Beijing describes as a “dangerous separatist,” was inaugurated on Monday.
The government in Taipei reacted to the Chinese military exercises with sharp criticism. The Defense Ministry strongly condemned China’s “irrational provocations and actions that undermine peace and stability in the region.”