We’ll take Taiwan: Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian pledges no retreat

Xiao Qian threatens re-education process for Taiwanese people, with Beijing ‘ready to use all necessary measures’ to restore liberal democracy ‘to the motherland’.

China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday. Picture: AAP

Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian has threatened a re-education process for Taiwan’s 23 million people to give them “a correct understanding” of China, as he ­declared Beijing was “ready to use all necessary measures” to restore the liberal democracy “to the motherland”.

After a week of Chinese military drills around the self-­governed island, Mr Xiao warned Australia to handle the question of Taiwan’s future “with caution”, declaring there was “no room for compromise” on the issue.

His comments to the National Press Club in Canberra came as Beijing released a new white paper claiming ownership of the island and its people was “an indisputable fact” and reserving the right to use force to take it back.

Hours later, China’s People’s Liberation Army said it had “successfully completed” its exercises around Taiwan, but warned that its Eastern Theatre Command would continue to carry out ­“training and war preparation”.

Amid fears the crisis could spark a major regional conflict, Mr Xiao said Taiwan was as much a part of China as Tasmania was of Australia, so any move to seize it would not amount to an “invasion”.

He said when Taiwan was restored to China, its people would have “somewhat different views” about their country, which would need to be rectified.

“Once Taiwan is reunited, coming back to the motherland, there might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China,” he said.

The envoy’s chilling warning, raising the prospect of Xinjiang-style camps in one of Asia’s most vibrant societies, followed that of China’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, who last week said “after the reunification, we will do re-­education”.

Mr Xiao rejected opinion polls in Taiwan, that show overwhelming opposition to Communist Party-rule, claiming that “the majority” of Taiwan’s people supported being absorbed into China, with just “a handful” supporting Taiwan’s independence.

He said China’s explosive re­action to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which included firing 11 ballistic missiles over and around Taiwan, was “legitimate and justified” to safeguard its ­sovereign territory.

“It is the US side that should and must take full responsibility for the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

“It’s a determination to show that on the question of Taiwan, there’s no room for compromise.”

Just days after Beijing blasted Foreign Minister Penny Wong for her condemnation of its missile launches, Mr Xiao said China wanted “a sound stable, friendly and co-operative relationship” with Australia.

He said the election of the ­Albanese government had opened up the possibility of a “reset” between Beijing and Canberra but “concrete actions” were needed on both sides. Mr Xiao held out the prospect of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Anthony Albanese at the November G20 leaders’ meeting in Bali, but warned after years of difficult relations, Mr Xi would be wary of being “humiliated”.

“If you are, you know, talking bad about me, why should I meet you?” he said.

In his first major appearance before the Australian media, Mr Xiao blamed “negative” news coverage of his country for “harming the friendship between our two peoples”.

He said detained Australian citizen Cheng Lei’s rights were being protected under Chinese law – “Don’t worry about that” – blaming Covid for long periods of isolation from relatives, legal ­advice and consular support.

After more than two years of trade tensions between the countries, Mr Xiao argued that Chinese bans on $20bn worth of Australian exports should not be described as “sanctions”, but were instead the result of trade disputes, unhappy consumers and fears by Chinese companies of being blacklisted by Australia, as with Huawei and ZTE. He also sought to dismiss a dangerous mid-air incident in which an Australian P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft was ­aggressively challenged by a ­Chinese fighter jet in the South China Sea.

The Chinese plane set off flares and “chaff” countermeasures ahead of the Australian jet near the disputed Paracel Islands, which China claims as its own.

Mr Xiao said the close call was “very unfortunate”, but likened it to someone “driving around, ­carrying a gun and trying to peep into your windows”.

The ambassador used his first National Press Club address to continue Beijing’s decades-long attempt to rewrite Australia’s One-China policy. He said the “One-China principle is a solemn commitment by successive Australian governments”, conflating Beijing’s hardline position with Canberra’s ambiguous one that allows substantial unofficial relations with Taipei.

Australia has always insisted that any change to the status quo must be peaceful and would require the consent of both sides. That policy – shared by Japan, the US and most wealthy ­countries – has allowed the Taiwanese space to create their ­vibrant democracy and dynamic economy.

In a major concession to Beijing, Australia’s policy also says Taiwan is not allowed to formally declare its independence.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed there had been no change to Australia’s policy on handling ­Taiwan. “Australia has a longstanding bipartisan One-China policy. There has been no change to this policy,” it told The Australian in a statement.

Senator Wong declined to comment on the Chinese envoy’s mischaracterisation of Australia’s policy. ANU National Security College head Rory Medcalf said the ambassador’s performance was “a bracing eye-opener for … anyone who still imagined a reset was possible or desirable”.

“A reset is a fantasy, thanks to all the issues he was implacable on,” Professor Medcalf said.

“The (Albanese) government’s agenda is sensibly more about stabilisation than reset, but even that will be permanently fragile.”

Japan’s ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, said his Chinese counterpart’s comments were alarming. “Bluntly speaking, I was very surprised and not a little concerned by the speech made today, because I thought this was a good opportunity to reset their relationship with Australia,” he told Sky News. “This is a time to de-escalate tensions. How come we have to see military exercises around ­Taiwan?

“How come missiles have to be shot over Taiwan into Japanese waters in response to the US Speaker of the house’s visit to ­Taipei? This is beyond our ­com­prehension.”

In a crisis address delivered on Tuesday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, thanked Australia for its support in the face of China’s attempt to use military might to “ alter the status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and across the Indo-Pacific.

“The people of Taiwan also have the right to express their collective will through a democratic system. China has no right to interfere in or alter this,” Mr Wu said in Taipei.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence said 45 Chinese warplanes and 10 gunboats had been operating close to the island on Tuesday.

Beijing had made similar deployments every day since Aug­ust 4, when it launched live-fire military drills in six zones close to Taiwan in what the PLA described as “blockade” rehearsals.