The Wire

This week, China and Taiwan have been holding rival war games across the Taiwan Straits. As part of these annual military exercises, Taiwan closed an entire motorway so fighter jets could use it as an emergency runway. Meanwhile, China staged a mock invasion of Taiwan, on an island off the coast. Recent remarks by the United States and both sides of Australian politics highlight concerns about what are perceived to be growing threats from China, over Taiwan’s leaning towards a separate identity. Critics of the United States point out US support of the one-China policy, while at the same time, the US deals arms with Taiwan. Will the Taiwan/China issue escalate into war, and how do Taiwanese and Chinese people feel about it? Cassandra Hill decided to find out what people were thinking in Australia’s Chinese and Taiwanese communities. She spoke first to Dr Ven Tan, Vice President of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, which has about a thousand supporters in Australia; Harrison Liao, President of the Victorian Branch of the Taiwanese Association of Australia; and Bruce Jacobs, Professor of Asian Languages at Monash University.