Pictured: People in Taipei on SundayĬhina has blamed Taiwan, and its most important international supporter the United States, for the simmering tensions across the Taiwan Strait. The island of 24 million people has since transformed into a vibrant democracy and major tech hub, leading many - including President Tsai Ing-wen - to assert Taiwan's distinct identity, which Beijing attacks as separatism.

Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance - more than 250 miles - from mainland Taiwan. Taiwan has complained for over a year of repeated sorties by China's air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled but lightly defended Pratas Islands. Self-governed Taiwan's people live under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. He did not say how he knew that such a move had been debated or why it would not happen during the next few years.Ĭhina's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. On Thursday, Taiwan's National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong claimed China has internally debated whether to attack Taiwan's Pratas Islands after 2024, the year President Tsai Ing-wen's term ends. The comments came a day after the head of a visiting European Parliament delegation to Taipei called Taiwan's democracy 'a treasure' to be protected, promising to stand with the island.Ĭhina has dramatically ramped up military activities in recent years, with a record number of planes intruding into the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in early October.

Zhu Fenglian, the head of the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing (pictured in 2019) warned that 'the mainland will pursue criminal responsibility for Taiwan independence diehards in accordance with the law, to be effective for life'

Left 4 dead 2 no mercy