On Friday, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conducted a second day of “punitive” exercises targeting Taiwan’s newly elected President, Lai Ching-te. Despite the pressure from Beijing, some of the people in democratic Taiwan told Reuters that they were continuing with their daily lives as usual.
According to official CCP media reports, the CCP carried out simulated missile attacks in the waters east of Taiwan and deployed fighter jets armed with live missiles in response to President Lai Ching-te’s “separatist” remarks during his inauguration speech.
However, in Taiwan with a population of only 23 million, life goes on as usual. The Taiwanese people have become accustomed to living alongside CCP threats for decades.
Mr. Chen Xian’en, a tire repair shop owner from Kaohsiung, said, “The CCP’s military exercises have not really impacted our daily lives. We still have to work and earn money.” Kaohsiung is where the main naval base of Taiwan is located.
The 66-year-old Mr. Chen mentioned, “From childhood to adulthood, we have already become accustomed to the threats from the CCP.” These exercises are seen as a form of intimidation, a “show of force” by Beijing towards Taiwan’s new leadership.
“They have said it numerous times, but there has been no actual action. If they wanted to occupy Taiwan, they would have already done so.”
While Taiwanese media reported on the exercises, their focus is primarily on the ongoing protests by the opposition party to drive legislative reforms.
“I don’t think there’s a need to be afraid,” said Taipei taxi driver Zhuang Junsong. “If China (CCP) really attacks Taiwan, Taiwan has no choice but to defend itself. But we should also have the courage to launch missiles back at them.”
The CCP’s exercises took place in areas around Taiwan and near islands controlled by Taiwan such as Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin. These islands are close to the coast of China.
During his inauguration speech on Monday, Lai Ching-te urged the CCP to cease threats, stating that both sides of the Taiwan Strait do not belong to each other. The CCP is greatly angered by this. The CCP considers Taiwan as its own territory.
Tim Chang, a 52-year-old resident of Kinmen, stated that Beijing has been threatening to wage war for decades.
He said, “If war were inevitable, if they were planning to launch an attack, they would have done so twenty or thirty years ago.”
Amid the CCP’s encirclement exercises around Taiwan, the Taiwan Stock Exchange stood at a historic high, with a minimal impact, closing down 0.2% on Friday. On Thursday, the day the exercises began, the market closed up by 0.3%.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Nvidia, with its stock also at a historical peak.
Alex Huang, Vice President of Mega International Investment Services, stated, “The exercises may have short-term psychological impacts, but they will not reverse the long-term upward trend of the Taiwanese stock market.”
Vasu Menon, Managing Director of Investment Strategy at OCBC Bank in Singapore, said investors anticipate that tensions will not escalate sharply.
He added, “Over the past few years, the CCP’s military has regularly carried out activities near Taiwan, reducing investors’ sensitivity to such exercises.”
For the past four years, the CCP military has been active near Taiwan almost daily. In August 2022, following the visit of former U.S. House Speaker Pelosi to Taiwan, the CCP conducted a four-day live-fire military exercise on an unprecedented scale.