Xi Jinping may simply be storing up problems by raising expectations of an eventual reunification with Taiwan
, the speaker of America’s House of Representatives, mulled a trip to Taiwan, officials in China, which claims the island, warned her to stay away. “If she dares to go, just wait and see,” said a foreign-ministry official. The army “will not sit idly by”, threatened the defence ministry. President Xi Jinping suggested a furious reaction: “Those who play with fire will perish by it,” he told Joe Biden. The ultimatums sentinto a frenzy.
The crisis has come at a particularly sensitive time for Mr Xi, just a few months before a Communist Party congress at which he is expected to secure a third term as leader, violating recent norms. This month, if tradition holds, party bigwigs and retired elders will meet in the resort town of Beidaihe, where in the past they have had informal discussions about policies and personnel. How much of that still goes on under the increasingly autocratic Mr Xi is an open question.
Mr Xi would certainly prefer that things were more stable. “China has been dealing with an extraordinarily difficult year, and much of the difficulty is a result of policy decisions that Xi himself has made,” says Mr Blanchette. The economy is slumping, in part due to Mr Xi’s, which relies on mass testing and lockdowns to contain outbreaks. Sustaining that policy has become harder as new, more transmissible variants of covid emerge.
“Our countermeasures will be very strong, effective and resolute,” said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, on August 3rd. America and Taiwan “will feel their effects gradually and continuously”, she added. Some nationalists have also tried to reset expectations. Sima Nan, with nearly 3m followers on Weibo, urged his followers to be patient and store up their anger. “When shall we eat this piece of meat?” he wrote of Taiwan. “I think it will certainly be slowly.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Taiwan: US hits out at 'irresponsible' China amid attack rehearsal claimsThe US has accused Beijing of 'provocative' actions after Taiwan said China rehearsed an attack.
Read more »
China 'needs 2 MILLION soldiers to invade Taiwan & could fail just like Putin'CHINA would need two million soldiers to invade Taiwan and could end up failing just like Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, experts have said. Communist Party forces are deployed around the island for mas…
Read more »
Taiwan news: China puts 'ring of steel' around island and cuts off all US talks; Taipei warns of 'firm action'China's military drills 'jeopardises stability and peace of entire region', says Taiwan's representative to the EU. Dr Tsai Ming-Yen said Taiwan will 'always treasure international support' despite China's reaction to Nancy Pelosi's visit. Read more:
Read more »
China's military drills appear to simulate an attack, says Taiwan after warships and planes cross unofficial borderChina launched live-fire military exercises after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this week, in a trip that enraged Beijing.
Read more »