Taiwan Premier: "We Will Not Collapse Like Afghanistan"

Chinese State Media: "Taiwan Could Also Be Abandoned by the US"
Chinese SNS Psychological Warfare Spreads... "Today Afghanistan, Tomorrow Taiwan"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang strongly refuted editorials from Chinese state media suggesting that Taiwan could be abandoned by the United States like Afghanistan, emphasizing that Taiwan will not collapse. As the US exit strategy from the Middle East is expected to intensify the confrontation between the US and China in the South China Sea, including Taiwan, concerns are growing that cross-strait relations will further deteriorate.

According to local media such as the Taiwan United Daily on the 17th, Premier Su stated at a press briefing that "Taiwan will not collapse like Afghanistan," adding, "The Afghanistan situation reminds us how important self-defense is." He continued, "There are powerful countries today trying to swallow Taiwan by force, but we are not afraid of being killed or imprisoned."

When asked by reporters whether he would flee if faced with a situation like Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president who fled during the Taliban's invasion of Kabul, Premier Su emphasized, "Even when Taiwan was under martial law, the country's democratic forces were not afraid of arrest or death," and added, "If we strengthen our belief in the nation and defend this land, no one will be able to invade Taiwan."

Premier Su's remarks are interpreted as a direct response to Chinese state media editorials that, following extensive coverage of the Afghanistan crisis, argued that Taiwan should learn lessons from it. Earlier, the Chinese state-run Global Times published an editorial stating, "Seeing Afghanistan's collapse, Taiwan must learn many lessons," suggesting that although Taiwan relies on the US to assert its independence, it could one day be abandoned by the US.

According to CNN, various Chinese social networking services (SNS) have been circulating posts saying, "The Afghanistan crisis is very similar to the Vietnam Saigon incident," with messages like "Yesterday was Saigon, today is Afghanistan, tomorrow will be Taiwan." CNN reported that the Taiwanese government views this as an intensification of China's psychological warfare.

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