The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command conducted joint military drills around Taiwan Island, April 1, 2025. /CFP

Editor's note: In light of the so-called "10 lectures on unity" by Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te, CGTN presents a 10-episode commentary series "resurfacing old dregs of 'Taiwan Independence' rhetoric: a rebuttal to Lai Ching-te's lectures." This is the fourth piece in the series.

In a recent address, the fourth in a series of tendentious lectures, Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te escalated his campaign of separatist rhetoric under the guise of bolstering the island's defense. With the disciplined cadence of a demagogue, he painted a grim picture of existential threat, a narrative meticulously crafted not for genuine security, but to fuel a manufactured crisis. This discourse, however, is more than mere political posturing; it is a dangerous and calculated step towards the abyss, one that threatens to immolate the peace and stability of the entire East Asian region on the pyre of his own reckless ambitions.

Lai's speech, cloaked in the language of democratic self-preservation, is in fact a masterclass in fear-mongering. It is a deliberate effort to poison the minds of Taiwan residents, to distort the benign intentions of the Chinese mainland and to justify a ruinous arms race that serves only the interests of foreign military-industrial complexes and his own separatist clique. This is a betrayal of the solemn responsibility of any politician to seek peace and prosperity for his people, opting instead for a path of confrontation that can only lead to peril.

Hijacking Taiwan residents: Lai's politics of fear

The politics of fear is a classic tool of those who lack a legitimate mandate or a viable vision for the future. It operates by fabricating or exaggerating an external enemy to consolidate domestic power, silence dissent and justify policies that would otherwise be unacceptable.

Lai Ching-te's recent pronouncements on defense are a textbook case. He relentlessly portrays the Chinese mainland as an implacable aggressor, seeking to convince Taiwan residents that their very existence is under imminent threat. This is a cynical ploy designed to hijack public opinion and coerce the populace into supporting a massive increase in military expenditure, diverting precious resources from public welfare to the procurement of offensive weaponry.

This war-mongering narrative stands in stark and deliberate contrast to the consistent and clearly articulated policy of the Chinese mainland, which has exercised the utmost sincerity and made the greatest efforts to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, recognizing that this path best serves the interests of all Chinese people, including the 23 million residents of the Taiwan region.

The mainland's stance is unequivocal: Chinese do not fight Chinese. Its resolve to safeguard national sovereignty is not aimed at the general populace of the island. Rather, as has been stated with profound clarity, any necessary measures would be directed exclusively against interference by external forces and the miniscule number of diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists and their divisive activities.

Lai, by deliberately ignoring this crucial distinction, attempts to bind the fate of all Taiwan people to his own perilous agenda, effectively holding them hostage to his politics of fear.

A delegation of young people from China's Taiwan Island visit the Dream Bund Scenic Area of Hengdian World Studios in Jinhua City, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 26, 2025. /CFP

Appealing to external forces: Lai's betrayal of history

Lai's strategy of fear logically extends to a desperate appeal to external forces, a move that constitutes a profound betrayal of history and his own heritage. In his rhetoric, an increased defense budget translates directly into larger arms purchases from the United States, transforming the island into a pawn in a geopolitical game and a repository for U.S. military hardware.

This Faustian bargain, trading the future of Taiwan residents for the patronage of foreign powers, is presented under the flimsy banner of shared "democratic values." It is a thin veneer for a policy of subservience that invites external interference and escalates regional tensions.

Lai's appeals also egregiously extend to Japan, the former colonial power that subjected the island to many decades of brutal occupation. By conveniently forgetting this history of oppression while embracing a so-called values-based alignment, Lai not only insults the memory of his ancestors and the whole Chinese nation, but also attempts to sever the unbreakable historical and cultural bonds that tie the Taiwan region to the Chinese mainland.

For centuries, Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China. This is a fact etched in history and recognized by the international community. Lai's attempts to erase this history and distort his own identity as a Chinese person in pursuit of a separatist fantasy reveal a man unmoored from reality and willing to sacrifice historical truth for political expediency. His remarks are a war-mongering posture that seek allies not for defense, but for confrontation.

Playing with fire: Lai endangers the region's future

Another alarming aspect of Lai Ching-te's rhetoric is its direct challenge to the foundational principles of the post-Second World War international order. His separatist ambitions are predicated on a nullification of historical facts and legally binding international agreements that have guaranteed peace in East Asia for decades.

The Cairo Declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam Declaration of 1945 state with unambiguous clarity that all the territories Japan had stolen from the Chinese shall be restored to China. These documents are not mere historical relics; they are pillars of the post-war order that Lai seeks to dismantle.

By embarking on his separatist path, Lai is playing with fire. He is not merely a "troublemaker," as he has been rightly labeled, but an arsonist in a region fraught with complexity. His actions risk dragging East Asia into a conflict that would have devastating consequences for global peace and prosperity.

The future of the Taiwan region and its residents, especially its youth, is being gambled away by a leader who prioritizes a political chimera over the tangible well-being of his people. This war-mongering agenda offers nothing but a future of uncertainty and danger.

In conclusion, Lai Ching-te's speech is not a blueprint for security but a declaration of his intent to pursue a path of confrontation, division and peril. He employs fear to manipulate public opinion, betrays history to court foreign patrons and undermines international law to advance his separatist cause.

It is imperative for the residents of the Taiwan region, particularly the younger generation, to see through this dangerous charade. They must reject the politics of fear, recognize the immutable truth of their history and culture and reclaim their future from a leader who is determined to lead them down a path of no return.

The future of the Taiwan region lies not in confrontation fueled by separatist delusions, but in peace, cooperation and the inevitable trend of national reunification.

(Pan Deng is a commentator with CGTN. If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at [email protected]. Follow @thouse_opinions on X, formerly Twitter, to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)

Source: CGTN