Joseph Wu, the current foreign affairs minister of Taiwan, was interviewed in Taipei by FRANCE 24’s Cyril Payen. In the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan fears a similar situation as China is determined to claim the island as part of its territory, like it did over a century ago. China’s President Xi Jinping is increasingly menacing and has ordered regular military exercises around the island. Taiwan is wary of a possible invasion from the mainland, and is calling for help.
Wu hopes that fellow democracies around the world realise that if China invades Taiwan, which has a very strategic location, the rest of the Indo-Pacific region could face the same fate. To prevent this scenario, the minister says the island is trying to prepare itself, and wants to procure weapons from fellow democracies.
He also stresses that Taiwan is a self-sufficient democracy, meaning Taiwanese people do not want to live under an authoritarian regime like that in the People’s Republic of China. According to Wu, the world must unite to prevent China from expanding at all cost.