Crashed Taiwan's National Day Party

But that's not all they're doing

To challenge Taiwan in the Pacific

Welcome back to China  Uncensored. I'm Chris Chappell. 


There was a major diplomatic incident  between China and Taiwan this month in Fiji.

What happened? Well, it's a bit  of a he said/she said situation.

According to Taiwan, two Chinese diplomats  

crashed a Taiwanese National  Day Party in Fiji on October 8.

I believe we have a picture of the  two Chinese diplomats in question.

Anyway, the party crashing  led to a fistfight in Fiji.

Also known as a stoush.

A scuffle.

A fracas.

Newspapers love a good old-fashioned fracas.

Anyway, the fight was serious enough to land  

a Taiwanese official in the  hospital with a concussion.

So why did these Chinese diplomats crash  Taiwan's National Day party? Well Taiwanese  

officials say that the Chinese diplomats were  trying to photograph the people who were there. 

“Beijing has deployed such  tactics—turning up at events,  

taking photographs of people—in recent years to  intimidate its rivals and those who support them.”

When the Taiwanese staff tried to  stop them from taking photographs,  

the Chinese diplomats assaulted them. 

Of course, Beijing totally denies this. 

"First of all, Taiwan has no so-called diplomats  in Fiji...The relevant report you mentioned is  

totally inconsistent with the facts. Taiwan  is like a thief crying 'stop thief'."

Yeah, there aren't any so-called  Taiwanese diplomats in Fiji,  

which means we couldn't have so-called punched  them in their so-called faces. In fact,  

those Taiwanese diplomats who don't  exist punched us in the face first!

Chinese authorities are saying that  the Taiwanese “acted provocatively  

against the Chinese Embassy staff...causing  injuries and damage to one Chinese diplomat.”

So how did those Chinese diplomats  get there in the first place?  

They totally didn't crash Taiwan's party. 

They were just “carrying out their official duties  in the public area outside the function venue.”

...official duties that may or may not  have included secretly photographing  

people going into the venue. And  trying to crash Taiwan's party.  

In any case, since Taiwan is part of China,  

that means this Taiwanese party  is actually a Chinese party,  

which means that the Chinese diplomats weren't  crashing, they were just going to their own party!

Everyone knows the best  party is a Communist Party. 

But the Chinese foreign ministry  wants the world to know that the real  

problem isn't the party crashing.  The real problem is the cake.

That's because “a false national flag  was openly displayed at the scene;  

the cake was also marked with a false national  flag,” according to spokesman Zhao Lijian.

I believe that Zhao is saying  that the cake is a lie.

In the end, police were called to the event, but  the Chinese officials claimed diplomatic immunity.

The actions of the Chinese diplomats in Fiji  are part of China's increasingly aggressive  

“Wolf Warrior Diplomacy.” 

As well as the Chinese Communist  Party's increasing threats to Taiwan.

But that's not the whole story.  

What happened in Fiji is also about China's  growing attempts to dominate the Pacific.

And I'll tell you how, after this short break.

Welcome back. China's fracas  over a Taiwanese cake in Fiji  

is just a small part of the Communist  Party's attempts to dominate the Pacific.

Fiji is located here, in the South Pacific,  a short flight away from Australia.

Fiji is an archipelago of more than 300 islands.  

It's most famous for its abundant  natural resources, like bottled water.

Fun fact: Fiji used to be known as  

the Cannibal Isles. I imagine they changed  the name because it was hard to get tourists.

Welcome to the Cannibal Isles:  We're here to serve you. 

Anyway, Fiji was one of the first Pacific  

nations to recognize the People's  Republic of China back in 1975. 

But relations between Fiji and  the Chinese Communist Party  

really started warming up back in 2006,  

after the current prime minister of Fiji, Frank  Bainimarama, seized power in a military coup. 

China didn't criticize the coup. In fact,  they increased their aid to Fiji dramatically,  

from 1 million dollars to 161  million dollars within two years.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has personally  met with Bainimarama several times,  

including during a state visit to Fiji in 2014.

During that visit, they signed five agreements  as part of China's Pacific engagement strategy.

Fiji is also part of China's Belt and Road  Initiative. In just the last five years,  

China has invested more than a billion dollars  in Fiji, mostly for infrastructure projects.

Like these Fiji-China Friendship Bridges. Yeah,  they really cemented the bilateral friendship. 

Hey Xinhua, I'm the one who makes punny  jokes around here. Stay in your lane. 

Fiji also became the first Pacific  island nation to get a loan  

from China's infrastructure investment bank.

There have been some hiccups along the way. Like  a Chinese mega-resort that destroyed a local reef  

and then had its building rights revoked. 

But overall, the relationship between  Fiji and China has gotten even closer  

after the coronavirus outbreak.

Chinese state-run media are talking about  speeding up construction projects in Fiji.

Fiji does not have official  diplomatic relations with Taiwan,  

but Taiwan does have a de facto embassy  in Fiji—the Taipei Trade Office.

And their National Day celebration, the one  that sparked the literal diplomatic fight,  

was attended by Fiji government ministers,  opposition leaders, and prominent businesspeople.

So it's easy to see why the Chinese  diplomats were so eager to figure out  

who was at the party. Eating  that delicious, delicious cake.

In fact, Taiwan's influence  is one of the big reasons  

that the Chinese Communist Party  is more interested in the Pacific. 

More on that after the break.

Welcome back. Taiwan is a  key reason why the Chinese  

Communist Party is interested in the Pacific. 

Although frankly we are running out of parts of  the globe where China does not have an interest.

But four of the 15 countries that officially  recognize Taiwan are in the Pacific: Nauru,  

Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu.

Last year, the Chinese Communist Party  managed to get two Pacific countries to  

switch diplomatic relations from Taiwan to  China: The Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

Thanks to China's diplomatic application  of... lots and lots of money.

There's a lot more going on with China and  these Pacific nations than I can fit into this  

episode.  Let me know if I should  do another episode on this topic. 

But broadly speaking, the Pacific is one place  that Taiwan and China compete heavily for  

influence, especially because Taiwan can afford to  give more aid to these smaller Pacific countries. 

Remember: no matter how big or small a country  is, it gets one vote in the United Nations.  

And the Pacific Ocean happens to be  a great place to build naval bases.

But it's not just Taiwan that's worried  about China's increasing role in the Pacific.

Australia and New Zealand are also nervous about  China gaining more influence in their backyard.  

In case China decides to turn the nine-dash line  

into the 19-dash line. Or for  that matter the 90-dash line.

That's one reason both Australia and New Zealand  are competing with China for influence in the  

South Pacific as well. For example, Australia  outbid China to fund a military base in Fiji.

And the United States is paying  attention, too. After all,  

the US not only has territory in the Pacific,  it also has many military bases in the region.

Last month Palau, which recognizes Taiwan and not  

China, invited the US to build a  military base on their islands as well.

That's after US Defense Secretary  Mark Esper visited Palau  

and accused Beijing of being “a  malign influence” in the region.

And Beijing is the big reason that the US  has just released its 2020 Pacific Pledge.

It's a pledge to give more than 200 million  dollars of funding to the Pacific islands,  

including 130 million dollars to  support the response to COVID-19.

So expect to see growing diplomatic rivalries  in the Pacific over the next few years  

between China and Taiwan, Australia,  New Zealand, and the United States.

Sounds like it's going to be  a real party. Pass the cake.

And now it's time for me to  answer a question from one of you,  

who supports China Uncensored through  the crowdfunding website Patreon.

Bill asks, Do you think the USA should  sell F-35 fighter planes to Taiwan,  

thus, giving Taiwan the ability to remove  all Chinese airplanes from its air space?  

Taiwan might send a message to  the CCP: "Do Not Tread On Me!"

Well, Bill it's complicated. Two years ago,  Taiwan had wanted to buy F-35 stealth fighter  

jets from the US. But they stopped requesting that  last year, and asked for F-16 fighters instead. 

The US just finalized that sale two months ago.

Why did Taiwan stop asking for the F-35s? 

“The air force turned its back on  pursuing the F-35B short takeoff/vertical  

landing (STOVL) fighter due to a recent Taiwan  National Security Council report. It indicated the  

stealth fighter was too exorbitant and untested in  real combat to be a pragmatic choice for Taiwan.”

There was also concern that the US might not  sell the F-35 to Taiwan for security reasons.

But some experts say that  Taiwan still needs the F-35,  

since they don't have any stealth fighter jets. 

And a former deputy undersecretary of defense has  suggested that instead of selling F-35s to Taiwan,  

the US should lease them.

The idea would be that the planes would  be leased to Taiwan but would stay  

in the US. That way they could be a  deterrent to China, but China wouldn't  

be able to spy on the F-35s, or attack them,  since they wouldn't be physically in Taiwan.

It's an interesting idea. 

Thanks for your question Bill. 

And if you'd like to have me respond to  your question or comment on the show,  

join what I call the China Uncensored 50 Army...

and support us in the battle against the Chinese  Communist Party. You can join for as little as a  

dollar per episode on the crowd funding website  Patreon. You'll also get some other cool perks  

as well. Head over to Patreon.com/China  Uncensored to learn more. Link is below.

Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time.