𝐗𝐢 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐰𝐚𝐧

PRESIDENT XI ADDRESSES 20TH ANNUAL CHINESE COMMUNIST CONGRESS

In a two hour speech by China's authoritarian President Xi Jinping to China's Communist Congress, XI lauded the crushing of democracy in Hong Kong and warned Taiwan that time is ticking on its time as a democracy.

In his speech President Xi stated:

"Facing severe provocations from the Taiwan independence forces and from interference by external forces, we resolutely carried out a major struggle against separatism and interference,”

Of course the primary external force President XI is referring to is the United States who has continued to support Taiwan by selling Taiwan kits to convert Taiwan's 141 F-16A/B jets into F-16Vs. Taiwan has also ordered 66 new F-16Vs with upgraded avionics, weapons, and radar systems to compete with China’s Air Force, including its J-20 stealth fighters. Further angering China has been the United States participation in a coalition of seven countries that are providing technical and material support to Taiwan to build its own modern diesel-electric submarines. Taiwan has tried to purchase diesel electric submarines from other countries, but has not been successful as none of the countries with the expertise to build and sell Taiwan submarines are willing to incur China's wrath. Indeed, the Netherlands incurred China wrath in early 1980's by building and delivering two diesel electric submarines. China responded with threats and threat of sanction, effectively shutting down initiatives by the Netherlands to sell an addition 2 to 4 more submarines to Taiwan.

In 2001, the Bush administration agreed to sell Taiwan 8 new diesel electric submarines to Taiwan, but never fulfilled on the promise claiming the U.S. no longer had the ability to build diesel electric submarines. Of course this was just an excuse as the United States could certainly have partnered with other countries to get the the submarines built in a timely fashion..The real reasons were more complex, but the biggest reason is the pressure China exerted in opposition to the sales.

Since then China has successfully thwarted Taiwan's efforts to by submarines as none of the countries with the expertise to build and sell Taiwan submarines are willing to incur China's wrath, including the United States.

It is sad that while the United States was willing to lose thousands of American lives and expend trillions of dollars in failed Middle Eastern nation building exercises, it has not been willing to provide even a tiny fraction of that level of support to a genuine thriving democracy whose strategic value to the United States is immense.