Taiwan’s President Challenges China's Territorial Claims: "Why Not Reclaim Land from Russia?"
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te recently highlighted the inconsistencies in Beijing's territorial ambitions, suggesting that if China is serious about reclaiming lost territories, it should also consider taking back land ceded to Russia. Lai's comments came during an interview with local media, where he criticized the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) approach to historical territorial losses.
Under Xi Jinping's leadership, the CCP has intensified its claim that Taiwan is a Chinese province currently governed by "illegal separatists." Beijing's narrative hinges on the idea that Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times and was unjustly taken by Japan during the "century of humiliation," a period between 1839 and 1949 when China suffered repeated defeats and territorial losses. The CCP's agenda to reclaim these losses is largely focused on Taiwan, with Xi even suggesting that force might be used to achieve "reunification."
However, Lai pointed out that China lost significant territory to Russia during the same period, including about 1 million square kilometers annexed by Russia in the 1858 Treaty of Aigun. This land, which includes the area now known as Vladivostok, has never been the subject of China's reclamation efforts. Lai argued that if Beijing's motivations were truly about territorial integrity, it would also be seeking to recover this land from Russia, especially given Russia's current weakened state.
Lai's remarks underscore the geopolitical nature of China's ambitions toward Taiwan. He suggested that Beijing's true goal is not merely to restore territorial integrity but to reshape the global order in its favor. Controlling Taiwan, a key location in the first island chain of the Pacific, would grant the CCP strategic access and dominance over the Taiwan Strait, significantly boosting its regional influence.
Wen-ti Sung, a China analyst at the Australian National University, supported Lai's assessment, noting that the Treaty of Aigun represented one of China's most significant territorial losses. Despite this, Chinese officials have continued to participate in Russian economic forums in Vladivostok, implicitly recognizing Russian control over the region. Sung emphasized that if China's main objective were to end the "century of humiliation," it would prioritize reclaiming land from Russia rather than focusing exclusively on Taiwan.
The historical context further complicates the situation. Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895 and later handed over to the Republic of China in 1945. After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Republic of China government fled to Taiwan, establishing a separate government that later transitioned to democracy in the late 1980s. Today, Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, with its government asserting that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, and its future should be determined by its people, not by the CCP.
News Agencies