China may be showing how strong they as a modern nation-state are, it is indeed one of the most thin-skinned when it comes to taking criticism. NASA has upset China by referring to Taiwan as a country, the latest in a string of quarrels the Asian nation has waded into over wording it deems politically sensitive.
According to Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Beijing office that manages matters relating to the democratically run island, the US space agency has hurt the feelings of the Asian country’s 1.4 billion citizens with the connection on its website. Zhu said at a daily press conference in Beijing on Wednesday that the space agency should “correct its error as soon as possible.” The incident was characterised as “unforgivable” in a People.cn commentary published on Monday. The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, runs the platform.
NASA allows internet users to sign up to have their names sent to Mars on a potential mission. Taiwan is shown as a country of choice in a drop-down box. Taiwan has been listed as a country on the website for an unknown amount of time, but more than 18 million people have signed up. Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, also stated that “Many Chinese netizens who had wanted to participate in the NASA event were angered by the wrong listing of Taiwan island, saying they have decided to withdraw from the activity.”
Taiwan is not alone though, Japan has recently also signalled support for Taiwan. Tokyo has expressed that in case of any Chinese adventurism vis a vis Taiwan, Tokyo will provide a full-on military, as well as all other kinds of support to Taiwan. Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi mentioned a recent increase in the number of Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and the need to research ways for the Japanese Self-Defense Troops to collaborate with US forces defending Taiwan in the event of Chinese aggression in an earlier meeting with the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Read more: If China resorts to attacking Taiwan, Japan will attack China
As the world is reminded and appreciative of the Taiwanese and Taiwan as an exemplary nation-state. As many instances of Taiwan’s recognition in the world and its growth as an independent entity is becoming a reality, China is royally furious. China’s Communist Party views Taiwan as its territory, which must be taken by force if necessary. The government in Taipei rejects Beijing’s claim, insisting Taiwan is already a de facto sovereign nation. However, how it will pan out can only be speculated and things might become clearer in the next 6 months to a year.
