Chinese mainland military planes and warships are performing military exercises around Taiwan. Some people are worried about how this will affect Taiwan’s freedom, and some people are not afraid of the new military exercises in mainland China. However, Taiwanese people of all ages are looking forward to getting rid of the threat of mainland China, and express The freedoms they enjoy are inviolable.
“I’m a little worried, if I say I’m not worried, then I’d be lying to you,” Mr He, a 73-year-old retired lecturer, was walking in a park in central Taipei this morning.
“The problem is sovereignty. I want independence, but they (China) just see Taiwan as a province,” he added.
Agence France-Presse reported that after President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Kevin McCarthy), China announced the launch of a three-day “United Sword” military exercise to encircle Taiwan.
This is the largest military operation Beijing has taken around Taiwan since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Nancy Pelosi) visited Taiwan in August last year and China conducted a large-scale military exercise.
Other Taiwanese stretching their legs or practicing tai chi in Daan Forest Park were unafraid to bow down to China’s new military drills off the coast.
“In the city, everyone is eating, dancing, laughing, it’s business as usual,” said Mr Li, a 75-year-old retired businessman.
“Mainland China is obsessed with thinking that Taiwan belongs to them,” he said.
Taiwanese of all ages yearn to be free from the threat of mainland China, while reaffirming that freedom is paramount.
“We have to get on with our lives, we can’t just stop our lives like this,” said 16-year-old student Nathan Green, who holds dual citizenship of Australia and Taiwan.
“I don’t like a government that is like a prison, I don’t like a government that wants to control our people, I like a government that is free,” he said.
Although most of the people in Da’an Forest Park hold views against the Chinese Communist Party, some still feel close to the people of mainland China living under the tough rule of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I feel safe in Taiwan, I don’t think they will attack, we are like brothers,” said Mr. Shi, a 57-year-old teacher.
He also said: “If they bomb Taiwan, the relationship between the two parties will be permanently broken.”
Even in the relative calm, the people of Taiwan have made it clear that the freedoms they enjoy are sacrosanct.
“Freedom may be the most important thing in a country,” Greene stressed.
