"If War Breaks Out, It's All Because of 'Independence'": People's Daily Warns Taiwan of War

Comment Published... 'Do Not Say You Were Not Informed in Advance' Highest Level in Diplomatic Language
Same Expression Used One Day Before India War in 1962

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, issued the strongest warning, at the level of a war notice, toward the Tsai Ing-wen administration advocating Taiwan independence.

On the 15th, in a commentary titled "Stand on the Right Side of History," the People's Daily mentioned that Taiwan committed hundreds of espionage cases between 2018 and 2020, stating, "Both peoples on both sides of the Taiwan Strait do not wish for armed conflict, but if war breaks out, it will all be because of 'Taiwan independence.'"

The People's Daily further accused, "Under the direction of the Tsai Ing-wen authorities, Taiwan's intelligence agencies have taken the lead in the Taiwan independence separatist forces," and "They have engaged in unjust actions and stirred up chaos."

The People's Daily also warned, "We issue a warning to the Taiwan independence conservative forces within Taiwan's intelligence agencies," emphasizing, "Playing with fire will only lead to death."

The phrase appearing in the People's Daily commentary, "Do not say that you were not warned in advance (勿謂言之不豫也)," is one of the strongest expressions in Chinese diplomatic language.

Looking at previous usages, this phrase first appeared in the People's Daily editorial on September 22, 1962, one day before China and India started a war over border conflicts.

Xinhua News Agency also used the same phrase on July 3, 1967. At that time, China was engaged in a revisionist dispute with the Soviet Union and used this phrase when condemning Soviet espionage activities.

However, when Chinese state media such as the People's Daily use this phrase as a signal for the start of war, it is usually published on the front page. Since this commentary was published at the bottom of page 7, it is difficult to interpret it as meaning the start of war.

A Beijing source said, "Given the recent intensifying confrontation between the U.S. and China in the Taiwan Strait, it is judged that the Chinese authorities sent a strong warning through state media," adding, "Since diplomatic language used in wartime-level situations has appeared, the possibility that the conflict situation may escalate one step further cannot be ruled out."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.