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Taiwan
ChinaDiplomacy

PLA sticks and trade carrots: Beijing ramps up pressure on Taiwan as William Lai’s inauguration nears

  • Mainland China sends mixed messages to island, sending warplanes in closest known fly-by while signalling goodwill through eased tourism and imports
  • Analysts say Beijing is using strategy to pressure island to accept reunification as William Lai Ching-te prepares to take office

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Beijing has labelled Taiwanese president-elect William Lai an “obstinate separatist” who would bring war to the island. Photo: AP
Lawrence Chungin Taipei
As William Lai Ching-te prepares to take office as Taiwan’s next president, Beijing appears to be using a dual strategy of military plane fly-bys and relaxed travel and food import restrictions to ramp up pressure on the island’s next leader, according to observers.
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Last weekend, 12 People’s Liberation Army aircraft crossed the unofficial median line of the Taiwan Strait, with an unspecified number flying as close as 37 nautical miles (68.5km) from the northern Taiwanese city of Keelung. It marked the closest-ever fly-by the island’s military has disclosed to the public.

The proximity of the warplanes to Taiwan has raised fears on the island about the risk of a PLA decapitation strike, as it would take only three to four minutes for the planes to reach the presidential office in Taipei from that distance.

While the flight was seen as a PLA attempt to unnerve the island, Beijing authorities signalled goodwill with plans to ease restrictions on group travel to Taiwan and resume imports of several Taiwanese food products.

The loosening of restrictions coincided with a visit to Beijing by a group of lawmakers from the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), the island’s main opposition party. During a meeting with the lawmakers, Beijing’s vice-minister of culture and tourism Rao Quan announced that residents of Fujian province would be the first to resume visits to Matsu, a Taiwanese defence outpost near the mainland coast.
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