(7) CHINA’S HARSH WORDS ON TAIWANESE INDEPENDENCE: At the annual National People’s Congress of China, President Xi Jinping and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi played “the carrot and the stick” narrative tactic for Taiwan.
“Whoever promotes Taiwan's independence will be liquidated by history. Anyone in the international community who supports Taiwan independence and plays with fire will get burned and suffer the consequences," Wang Yi said.
Why It Matters: This message of choosing the peaceful route or the warlike route will resonate with Taiwan. Strengthening anti-independence forces likely means promoting Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party members to reaffirm the 1992 Consensus, preventing an independence declaration. There are very few pro-unification forces in Taiwan, but China’s shaping operations could promote them into power as it seeks to degrade the U.S.-led international order. - J.V.