On the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Dr Ming-Chi Chen, Associate Professor at the Institute of Sociology & Center, joined NewsX in an exclusive about China’s persistent aggression against Taiwan.
Excerpts:
Q. In view of the 32nd anniversary of the historic Tiananmen Square Massacre, do you believe China is continuing to practice oppressive policies even today?
A. Being China’s neighbour, we witness the aggression on a daily basis. Although People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan for a day, they still claim that we are the part of them. China wants to retake Taiwan, and if necessary, by force. We bear the brunt of the threat and that is what makes the people of Taiwan more sympathetic to the people being oppressed by PRC, by the Chinese communist party in the areas of Tibet, in Mongolia and East Turkestan. Commemoration of the Tiananmen Square Massacre is a significant event in the history of Taiwan, and we are probably the only ones who observe this day freely. We are the only Chinese-speaking society who are able to remember and honour those people who sacrificed their life to pursue the ideals of freedom and democracy in China.
Hong Kong used to be the place where this day was observed with veneration and zeal. Unfortunately, this event has been brutally suppressed by the Hong Kong government, under the Chinese Communist Party, since they established the national curriculum last year. So, the situation is dire. China had become very brutal in 1989, and they are getting even more repressive, not only towards their own people but also towards its neighbouring countries like India, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. China’s threat is not only regional, it looms over the global stage. I think the world has to wake up to this new threat to ensure global peace, prosperity and stability.
Q: Do you believe China’s oppressive policies continue even today against the Taiwanese people?
A. Absolutely, just as Taiwan needs the Covid-19 vaccines the most, China has pursued every possible way to block our assets and that’s frustrating. At the same time, they are continuing their military invasion into Taiwan airspace and also into the maritime territory. Similarly, they have launched the disinformation campaign— which we call the ‘cognitive warfare’— against Taiwanese people. In every healthy democracy, diverse opinions should be allowed to flourish, nevertheless, China is so good at utilising these sort of differences and disagreements and enlarge and and polarize them.
We are facing this kind of hybrid threat from China. I think people in India too have a similar feeling towards China. They are not only using military force against the Indian people but also the myriad disinformation campaigns. We know that now many scientists are beginning to go through the possibility that coronavirus originated from China. The communist party is a threat to all its neighbours.
