Taiwanese officials believe it’s inappropriate to compare their position to Ukraine’s

Taiwan – The administration said that comparing Taiwan’s position to Ukraine’s is wrong since the two are fundamentally different, and that individuals should not attempt to manipulate the situation by stating “today’s Ukraine is tomorrow’s Taiwan.”

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is being keenly watched in Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and has been subjected to heightened military pressure from Beijing in recent years in an attempt to convince Taipei to recognise Chinese sovereignty.

Taiwan’s democratically elected administration has consistently said that the island’s position is fundamentally different from that of Ukraine.

But, in a statement delivered at the conclusion of a long holiday weekend, Cabinet spokeswoman Lo Ping-cheng went even farther to condemn fearmongers, explaining on why people should not accept rumors.

Taiwan is not only significant geopolitically, but it also has a natural barrier in the form of the Taiwan Strait, which divides it from China, and is an essential component of the global high-tech supply chain, he noted, alluding to its large role in semiconductor manufacturing.

“The two cannot be compared in any way,” Lo said.

“However, there are individuals who are taking advantage of this chance to manipulate the so-called (subject) of ‘today’s Ukraine, tomorrow’s Taiwan,’ attempting to incorrectly equate Ukraine’s situation with Taiwan’s, causing people’s morale to suffer. This is not a good idea.”

The government does take stock of equipment required in the case of conflict, and this month performed a normal yearly inspection of air raid shelters, due to China’s recurrent “schemes” against Taiwan, but people should not draw a link between this and the war in Ukraine, he added.

President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Su Tseng-chang have frequently emphasized that government agencies should up their efforts to prevent “foreign forces leveraging the Ukraine-Russia issue to carry out cognitive warfare against us,” according to Lo.

Since the battle started, Taiwan has reported no extraordinary military actions by China, although it has raised its alert level.

Taiwan reported seven Chinese aircraft in its air defense zone but far from the island itself on Monday, part of a pattern of “grey zone” warfare aimed to wear down Taiwanese troops by forcing them to scramble on a frequent basis, according to the government.

The Chinese administration has also said that the conflicts of Ukraine and Taiwan are unrelated since Taiwan has always been a part of China.

Read the whole article here. Taiwan firmly opposes China’s territorial claims, claiming that only the Taiwanese people have the power to choose their own destiny