TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Responding to an apparently leaked Russian intelligence document stating Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) previously considered launching an invasion of Taiwan in the fall of this year, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said Wednesday (March 16) that the country is paying close attention to developments in the possibility of an attack from China and is ready at any time.
Wu made the comment at a briefing at the Legislative Yuan's foreign affairs committee on that morning, CNA reported. He added that at this point in time, he could not speak for the authenticity of the Russian intelligence report.
Wu recently conducted a video interview with Czech newspaper Hospodarske noviny in which he discussed Taiwan’s position on Ukraine and the possibility of a Chinese attack.
He said that China is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and the reaction of Western countries, believing if the unity of Western democracies is broken, China may benefit from the Russian invasion of Ukraine in regard to its own ambitions toward Taiwan. Yet so far, the Russian attack has not gone as smoothly as the Kremlin expected, and China must learn a lesson from this, Wu stated.
He added that Taiwan is also closely monitoring the development of the situation as well as China's intentions. He called on democracies to unite against totalitarian aggression around the world and to let China know the free world is on guard.
