The Taiwanese people are ready to fight as China escalates its aggression, ambassador says

Taiwan's top U.S. official warns that China has escalated its aggression toward the island and that its people are ready to fight.

“Yes, of course,” Alexander Yui, Taiwan's representative to the U.S., told Fox News' Aishah Hasnie when asked if the island's residents were ready to accept the moment China invaded. “We saw Ukraine.”

Taiwan is closely monitoring the conflict in Eastern Europe as Kiev's forces have been battling a Russian invasion for more than two years.

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Yui said he hoped not to need help from U.S. troops, which Ukraine also does not have, but suggested they would be readily accepted if offered.

“If your house is under fire and they help you with a bucket of water, would you say no?” Yui posed.

The diplomat said Chinese President Xi Jinping has escalated regional tensions since former President Donald Trump left office, but stopped short of blaming the Biden administration for encouraging China.

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Yui said China's aggression has increased since Trump left office, but did not blame Biden. (Rebecca Noble)

“XI Jinping feels encouraged because he wants to realize what he calls his China dream,” Yui said. “It's not about which government is in the United States… but rather what does Xi Jinping think?”

Taiwan's Defense Ministry detected eight Chinese military aircraft and two naval ships near the island earlier this week. The Defense Ministry said four of the eight planes crossed the median line between China and Taiwan's territory in the Taiwan Strait – although Beijing, which claims Taiwan, does not recognize the geographical demarcation.

A week earlier, on September 25, Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced that it had detected 43 Chinese military aircraft in 24 hours, 34 of which had crossed the median line. The next day, 41 Chinese military aircraft were spotted near Taiwan.

Republicans are proposing a bill that would double tariffs on Chinese imports

Yui said the people of Taiwan are ready to fight any Chinese invasion. (Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo)

Xi is believed to be preparing his country for an invasion of Taiwan by 2027 – meaning the US response will be left to whoever wins the presidency in November.

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Asked whether he would share a message about Taiwan with Americans before Election Day, Yui said it is a “peace-loving nation.”

“We believe in democracy and freedom. We must share the same values. And we want to be integrated into the world because we have been isolated for many decades because of the conflict we have with mainland China,” he said.