the united states says there is no
reason for tensions between china and
taiwan
to escalate to confrontation the remarks
come
as a senior chinese official warned that
any moves towards taiwan independence
could mean war the sharpened rhetoric
from beijing matches
increased military activity by its
forces against taiwan
the aim analysts believe is to place a
new u.s administration
and taiwan on check
taiwanese air force pilots are on high
alert
this may be just a simulated drill to
show how fast they can take to the skies
but in recent months they've been doing
it for real
the president laid bare the threat from
their nearest neighbor
in the past year our radar stations have
detected the incursions of nearly 2
000 chinese military aircrafts and over
400 vessels
this allowed us to intercept and drive
them away and secure our maritime and
airspace
a record number of incursions came on
january 23rd
china sent 13 warplanes into taiwanese
airspace
taiwan scrambled fighter jets to monitor
the activity
a day later china sent a further 16
aircraft into their airspace
over that weekend the united states sent
a carrier strike group
into the south china sea on what it
called routine
operations to ensure freedom of the seas
and it urged china to cease its pressure
on taiwan
beijing called on the us to respect the
one china policy
the us frequently sends vessels and
aircraft to enter the south china sea
their activities are a show of force and
not conducive to the peace and stability
of the region
analysts say the escalating tension is
part of china's efforts to flex
its muscles for china taiwan
and regaining the so-called
regaining control over thailand is
probably
most important strategic priority
meanwhile taiwan hopes drills like these
reassure the public
that no matter the aggression they face
the island
is prepared now let's get
more on this from professor steve tsang
he's director of the china institute
at the school of oriental and african
studies at the university
of london professor tsang welcome a
senior chinese official has warned that
any moves by
taiwan towards independence would lead
to war
talk to us a bit about the timing of
this very sharp rhetoric
why now i think it is because of the
change of government
in washington the chinese government
would have
expected or hoped that the biden
administration
would reverse u.s policy on taiwan
the biden administration has not done so
so the chinese want to
fire a shot across the boat of the
americans as it were
and how do the americans how does the
biden administration
intend to deal exactly with china
especially on the question of taiwan
the biden administration is fairly clear
that
it will take a robust position on taiwan
but it is willing to negotiate
and work with the chinese if the chinese
are
willing to reciprocate and work with the
americans
so the trump administration was very
unreliable
and eurotic the biden administration can
be expected to be very consistent
neither is something that the chinese
like to see
now the us is bound by the taiwan
relations act
to essentially provide taiwan with the
weapons to defend itself against any
chinese attack but
not to necessarily come to taiwan's aid
militarily
do you think it is time potentially the
u.s
considered amending that
the tower relations act does not require
the united states governments to
immediately interfere
on behalf of taiwan if taiwan should be
attacked but if you look at the
former u.s republic of china or taiwan
mutual defense pact of 1955
the provisions of that treaty also does
not trigger an immediate american
military response if taiwan should come
under attack
it really merely requires the u.s
government
to take the matters to congress and it
is very similar under the taiwan
relations act
so it is not really necessary for the
americans to change policy and say that
yes if taiwan comes under attack we
definitely will
immediately interfere
the situation is already under control
but then given that there is no
commitment of
immediate us help militarily
on the side of taiwan how does taiwan
defend itself in the event of an
invasion or an attack
the refusal of the americans to be
completely
clear is intended to deter
any government in taiwan from pushing
the envelope
too far and for example formally assert
uh de jure independence which which
would trigger
a chinese military invasion
but anything short of that the taiwanese
will know that
the americans have very very strong
strategic interest
in making sure that taiwan does not
change hand
and become chinese and the main reason
there is because
if taiwan were taken by the chinese
by force with the americans
being deterred or defeated then the
japanese will no longer trust
the american protection of japan's
security
and the entire american indo-pacific
strategy
would collapse and that is the reason
why
the chance of the americans not
interfering is in fact
relatively low right we leave it there
for the time being but thank you so much
for joining us professor steve tsang
from the school of oriental and african
studies in london thank you so much
you're welcome a shrinking space for
free speech and continuing political
upheaval is forcing many young hong
kongers to look for opportunities
elsewhere
taiwan has over the years been a
favorite destination for many
but now the island is planning to make
it easier for students
under the age of 18 to come to the
island on their own
for high school studies earlier they
needed an adult to accompany them
university students from hong kong
already studying in taiwan
believe it's a change for the better one
that allows students to escape the
turmoil at home
amy is safe here she's studying at the
taipei university
the hong kong authorities cannot reach
her
things are better here but she suffers
from post-traumatic stress
i feel guilty i survived we used to
chant together we stand
but i got out and left them behind in
hong kong
sometimes i wish i'd been arrested too
so we could face the hardships together
why am i enjoying life here when all my
friends are in jail
those friends were with her at the
protest back in 2019
many of them are facing charges like
rioting and could go to jail for a long
time
that was something she feared too
getting into a taiwanese university
seemed like her only chance to escape
i lived in hiding in hong kong for six
months while i prepared for the taiwan
university entrance exam
now i have freedom and peace here i no
longer live in fear
i don't need to text my friend every
hour to say i'm
safe
taiwan is only an hour's flight from
hong kong
easy enough for university students to
reach but high school students must be
with their parents or have a residence
permit
zachary is stuck in hong kong he took
part in the protests
which led to a split with his parents
he's too young to go to taiwan alone
i was very disappointed when the high
schools in taiwan said they couldn't
accept me
i don't understand why they take
university students but not high school
students
it's frustrating and i feel unsafe here
as hong kong becomes more dangerous for
pro-democracy campaigners
taiwan is planning to change the rules
this would allow high school students to
move there alone
school officials could become their
legal guardians
i hope the new policy will take effect
this year so i can finish my last year
of high school in taiwan
i don't want to do the university
entrance exam here
who knows what would happen if i wrote
something politically incorrect
you can get arrested for no reason now
under the national security law in hong
kong
life in taipei can be lonely for hong
kongers the culture and spoken language
are different
so is the food amy often comes to this
hong kong cafe for a taste of home
i come here to remind myself that i'm a
hong konger
i don't think i can go back while it's
under communist rule
i might live in taiwan for the next 10
20
even 30 years
home is always on her mind her friends
who are already in prison and those who
are too young to leave
just like me many hong kong protesters
are young
many of them are still in high school
and they need to wait for two to three
years until they're eligible to study
here
can you imagine how dangerous it is for
them
of mutual support between political
exiles offer some comfort
but they cannot reach the young
teenagers stuck back in hong kong
you