On May 20th, just one day after Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, took office, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held an unprecedented large-scale military exercise circling the island. The CCP Taiwan Affairs Office claimed that the exercise was a resolute punishment aimed at the “leader of the Taiwan region” for his speech promoting “independence,” as a stern warning against external forces supporting “Taiwan independence” and interfering in China’s internal affairs.
In other words, the purpose of the CCP’s island-wide military exercise was to intimidate the people of Taiwan and especially the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Many mainland Chinese official media outlets seriously claimed that once news of the military exercise was announced, “Taiwan immediately panicked!”
Is this really the case? Not quite!
On the morning of May 23rd, many believed that the military exercise would surely cause a panic-induced drop or even a crash in Taiwan’s stock market for the day. However, contrary to expectations, not only did the market not plummet, but it actually hit a historical high amidst the sounds of the military exercise, surprising many.
On that day, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s stock surged, and the overall stock index rose by 117.01 points to 21,668.84 points, setting a new historical high. Despite the CCP’s announcement of military exercises around the Taiwan Strait, there was a momentary dip in the index to 21,475.99 points at 9:16 AM, but it rebounded to close at 21,607.43 points, a gain of 55.6 points, setting a new record high at closing.
Dr. Chung Chih-tung from the National Defense Security Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense, in an interview with The Epoch Times, mentioned that the performance of Taiwan’s stocks in the face of military intimidation signals that the deterrent effect of the CCP’s military exercise on the Taiwanese people is gradually diminishing.
According to a BBC report, the CCP’s island-wide military exercise became a trending topic on Chinese social media platforms like Weibo, sparking discussions and occupying significant space. In contrast, on the same day, the most searched topic on Google in Taiwan was not the military exercise but gossip news about a rumored marriage crisis involving a Japanese celebrity. This pattern suggests that Taiwanese people are more interested in Japanese entertainment gossip than in CCP’s threats.
Imagine if the Taiwanese people were truly panicked by the CCP’s island-wide military exercise, would they still be so enthusiastic about gossip news?
In response to the unprecedented military intimidation by the CCP, on the 23rd, President Lai Ching-te inspected the “Naval Marine Corps 66 Brigade,” responsible for defending the capital region, in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
According to Voice of America, President Lai stated that as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, his responsibility was to protect the country, safeguard the lives and property of all citizens, and stand on the front line with the military to ensure national security.
“At this moment, the international community is closely watching democratic Taiwan. Faced with external challenges and threats, we continue to uphold the values of freedom and democracy, safeguard regional peace and stability,” Lai said.
He noted that it was his first time as the Commander-in-Chief to boost the morale of the military and pledged to continue promoting defense reforms, strengthening the overall combat capabilities of the armed forces, and ensuring their well-being.
“Honoring the military is taking care of the country,” Lai said. “Together, let us show the world our determination to defend democratic Taiwan.”
Furthermore, Assistant Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi from the Assistance Department of the Ministry of National Defense revealed that the military had dispatched naval, air, and ground forces to actively protect freedom and democracy and defend the sovereignty of the Republic of China.
He stated, “The possibility of the CCP transitioning from exercises to combat has always been a highly important observation index for us. Therefore, we conduct meticulous evaluation and analysis based on the process, content, deployment of forces, and scope of activities during any CCP military exercises. If we detect signs of a transition to combat, we will respond to any potential moves by the CCP in accordance with our current operational standards and procedures.”
In conclusion, although the CCP’s island-wide military exercise was of an unprecedented scale and aggressive in nature, it failed to intimidate the people and authorities of Taiwan, instead pushing Taiwan further against the CCP. The actual effect seemed to backfire on the CCP’s intended objectives.