A few days ago, Elon Musk urged a condominium between Taiwan and the Mainland and, to the astonishment of China-watchers, China’s Foreign Ministry praised him.
The world’s oldest, proudest, smartest, most communist foreign ministry publicly praised the world’s richest capitalist. Even more interesting is the timing of this pas de deux
Kiev Missiles Strike Taipei
Heads of State obsess about weird things. “Will my party betray me today, my mistress reveal my impotence, and I be forced to resign in front of 6 billion TikTok assholes?”
Harder times summon darker thoughts. “Can I reach my office without being dragged from the car and decapitated?” Uneasy lies the head.
Now, imagine Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s emotional response as she watched hundreds of missiles1 bypassing NATO defenses and striking fellow-puppet capital, Kiev – knowing that Beijing has 300,000 such missiles.
Imagine President Tsai’s feelings when, afterwards, fellow-puppet President Zelensky called to say he had begged Western leaders for help and received none.
I guess she’d seen enough.
“We are willing to work with Beijing”
Two hours later, she announced, “Provided there is rationality, equality, and mutual respect, we are willing to work with the Beijing authorities to find a mutually agreeable arrangement for upholding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”Tsai warned there was “no room for compromise in the Taiwanese people’s commitment to democracy and freedom.”
Though China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Máo Níng, responded warmly, she left no wiggle room, “The root of the tensions in the Taiwan Strait is that LDP authorities have been clinging to Taiwan independence and colluding with external forces to create provocations. We are ready to create ample space for peaceful reunification, but will never leave room for secessionist activities of Taiwan independence.”
Bottom Line
Beijing does not need Taipei’s permission or cooperation to embargo2 exports of Taiwanese chips to unfriendly countries. But that would further humiliate Washington.
