Analysts have warned that the separatist statements made recently by leader of Taiwan region Lai Ching-te constitute a challenge to the bottom line and the red line of the mainland.
On Thursday, the eve of the 20th anniversary of the implementation of China's Anti-Secession Law, Lai held a meeting in which he portrayed the mainland as a "hostile external force" and outlined 17 strategies to counter the so-called threats facing the island.
"There is no doubt that the Lai Ching-te authorities' actions are an attempt to challenge the bottom line and the red line of the mainland, especially Article 8 of the Anti-Secession Law. His actions are indeed extremely dangerous," said Zhang Hua, a researcher at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"We must carefully analyze whether his actions have touched Article 8 of the Anti-Secession Law, that is, 'the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.' The more rambunctious Lai Ching-te becomes, the faster we will see a solution of the Taiwan question and achieve unification," said Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies in Beijing Union University.
Article 8 of the law states that the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the event that the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted.
Analysts said Lai's separatist actions would push Taiwan closer to the brink of conflict.
His proposal to "reinstate military tribunals" is viewed as a strategic move to suppress political opponents on the island which further reveals his anxiety and insecurity, analysts said.
"Lai Ching-te's intensified incitement against the mainland cannot be ruled out as a strategic foreshadowing laid by him to suppress political dissidents on the island," said Chen Chao, deputy director of the Center for Taiwan Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
"Lai Ching-te is very anxious because his public support in the Taiwan region has continued to plunge. Polls conducted last month showed that public support for Lai was approaching a 'death cross' where the opposition outnumbers the support. So he resorted to provoking confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," Zhang Hua said.
Analysts see Lai Ching-te's separatist statements as challenge to mainland's red line
Chinese and foreign scientists have jointly carried out a series of exchange and investigation activities this week to respond to the United Nations' initiative on glacier preservation.
The United Nations declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, accompanied by the proclamation of the 21st March of each year as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025.
A public advocacy and glacier investigation activity with the initiative of "Let the Glacier Cool" was launched at Dagu Glacier scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a key place in global glacier preservation, from Monday to Tuesday.
In 2024, the Global Glacier Loss List (GGCL) project was jointly launched by Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The project tracks recently disappeared, almost disappeared, and critically endangered glaciers worldwide. Among them, the Dagu Glacier is the only glacier in China on the list.
In this regard, Chinese and foreign glacier experts and scholars conducted in-depth investigations into the changes in Dagu Glacier during the event.
"Let China's voice be heard in the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, World Day for Glaciers, and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences. We need to awaken people's awareness of glacier changes, and everyone can reduce emissions and live a green life to slow down global warming, so that we can prolong the life of glaciers," said Li Zhongqin, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Meanwhile, the Dagu Glacier International Academic Summit Forum was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, from Sunday to Tuesday.
The forum was jointly organized by the NIEER, the Center for Glacier Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) under the CAS, and the Sichuan Dagu Glacier Administration Bureau.
More than 100 glaciologists, climate policy experts and representatives of international organizations from more than 10 countries including China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States and the United Kingdom, attended the conference online and offline, and had in-depth dialogues on the scientific challenges and international cooperation in global glacier protection.
"Because of global warming, glaciers around the world are generally melting. For example, the latest research data released last month showed that the annual loss of global glaciers, if converted into water equivalent, is 273 billion tons. The public can clearly see that the glaciers are shrinking rapidly and disappearing rapidly," said Kang Shichang, director of the IMHE.
Global experts gather in Sichuan to respond to UN glacier initiative
