'Our number one fear is losing all our freedoms because Taiwan has been enjoying our democracy and our liberties for the past few decades,' he said. Taipei-based tech entrepreneur Hsin Cheng Hsaio said the the 25 million people on the island have grown more concerned after watching Beijing systematically erode the political freedoms of citizens in nearby Hong Kong. He said Australia should expand its defence force 'significantly' in the face of China so it does not suffer the same potential fate as Taiwan. It's going to be in the next three to 10 years,' he said. 'The next war is not going to be 10 or 20 years away. If any of these situations played out he warns Australia would be 'monstrously vulnerable' because we have a 'naïve faith that American military power is infinite and it's not'. One possibility is that China's vast navy could set up a no-sail, no-fly blockade around Taiwan, slowing choking the island's economy to death before seizing control.Īnother option is a sudden attack 'Pearl Harbour' type attack and the third possibility is a simultaneous combination of both strategies. Senator Jim Molan, who also climbed to the rank of Major General in the Australian Army, explained there are three possible scenarios of how China could take over Taiwan - a nation strategically important for its mass production of semiconductor microchips. A panda probably will run away in front of a leg-kicking kangaroo.' 'Do you think a kangaroo will fear a panda? Probably not.
AEROSMITH ARMAGEDDON ITUNES TV
Moments after threatening Australia in his bizarre TV interview, Mr Gao then went on to say 'China at its heart is a country of pandas'. 'This is what I hope the Australian people will come to realise, that you need to deal with China with respect, as much as you give to the United States.' 'The AUKUS deal will have one big consequence for Australia as it will no longer enjoy the benefit and the very rare privilege of not being targeted with nuclear weapons going forward,' Mr Gao said. The vice president for the Centre for China and Globalisation think tank went on to say Australia's recent deal with the UK and US to attain nuclear-powered subs would make the nation a target for a weapon of mass destruction by Beijing. Pictured: People's Liberation Army tanks are seen in Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a National Day parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China President Xi Jinping and other Communist party loyalists have voiced their ambitions of annexing the democratic US and Japan-backed island. But its political status remains unclear. Taiwan today, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders, is widely accepted in the West as an independent state.
In 1980, China put forward a formula called 'one country, two systems', under which Taiwan would be given significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification. The leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party, Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan in 1949 and established his government after losing the Civil War to the Communist Party and its leader Mao Zedong.Ĭhiang's son continued to rule Taiwan after his father and began democratising Taiwan. The island was under the Republic of China's ruling after World War II, with the consent of its allies the US and UK. After Japan claimed its victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government forced to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwanese soldiers hoist the flag of Taiwan in Taipei on May 10. China considers Taiwan as a part of its territory, but many Taiwanese people want the island to be independentĬhina and Taiwan have a long-standing dispute over the island's sovereignty.Ĭhina considers Taiwan as a part of its territory, more precisely a province, but many Taiwanese want the island to be independent.įrom 1683 to 1895, Taiwan was ruled by China's Qing dynasty.