China Doubles Down on its Claim of Ownership of Taiwan

According to Newsweek, this week, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters Taiwan "for sure is not Ukraine." Hua claimed the territory for China, calling it an "inalienable part" of the country and an "indisputable historical and legal fact."

"It is common knowledge that the Taiwan question was caused by a civil war, and there is political confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait due to that civil war. However, China's sovereignty and territory have never been divided and cannot be divided. This is the status quo of the Taiwan question," Hua argued.

The news comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukraine is part of Russia.

"The situations between Russia and Ukraine and China and Taiwan aren't direct parallels, but with concerns mounting about President Xi Jinping's goals, officials expressed concerns about the conflict's ability to impact other global issues,” the Newsweek story said.

If Ukraine is caught in conflict, the "shock will echo around the world," including in Taiwan, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, CNN reported. He said people could "draw the conclusion that aggression pays, and that might is right."

This week, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen ordered a task force to be created to study how the war between Russia and Ukraine could affect Taiwan's conflict with Beijing.

"Taiwan is obviously clearly following what's going on in Eastern Europe very closely, and they do see a very close parallel," DJ Peterson, president of the geopolitical advisory firm Longview Global Advisors, told CNBC. "I think what matters for Taiwan is, if there was a significant action in Ukraine, Beijing will be watching the level of sanctions, the intensity of sanctions.”

Also, this month, former President Donald Trump said that he believes "China is going to be next." Trump said he "absolutely" believes China will "go after" Taiwan and is planning to do so now that the winter Olympics, which were hosted in Beijing, are over.

Related:

Online Crackdown Threatens Christians in China

Photo courtesy: Chuttersnap/Unsplash

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.