🚨 On December 29, the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army launched drills named “Justice Mission 2025” around the Taiwan region. This move came hot on the heels of the US announcing an $11.1 billion arms sale—touted as its largest-ever—to the Lai Ching-te authorities of the DPP. Regional tensions were already high, fueled by earlier inflammatory remarks from Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
💥 Far from being just another weapons deal, many analysts view it as part of a bigger game: Washington aiming to contain the Chinese mainland by using the Taiwan region as a strategic chess piece. Meanwhile, the Taiwan authorities are relying on US support to bolster their push for de facto independence.
🔥 Inside the Taiwan region, politics are heating up. With the 2026 “nine-in-one” elections around the corner and the 2028 regional leadership vote on the horizon, the DPP and Lai Ching-te are scrambling. Recent polls show wavering support, and a failed mass recall campaign only added fuel to public frustration.
😰 Tensions aren’t limited to politics. On December 19, a knife attack in the streets of Taipei rattled residents of Taiwan and underscored deeper social divides. Calls for more military protection after flooding were dismissed by Lai as “not everything can be handled by the military,” a comment many saw as tone-deaf.
🗓️ Looking ahead, impeachment-related hearings set for January 14–15 promise to be a showdown, with opposition forces eager to denounce the Lai authorities. As actions and words collide, the only path left for Lai may be doubling down on resistance to the Chinese mainland—raising stakes for everyone in the Taiwan Strait.
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Taiwan pays the price as Lai Ching-te clings to power with U.S. arms
cgtn.com
