While tensions between the United States and North Korea remain high over the North’s nuclear and missile ambitions, one Chinese think tank researcher decided to up the ante—declaring that China should use force against Taiwan if the U.S. attacked North Korea.
Yu Yingli, an assistant researcher with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), a think tank affiliated with the Shanghai government, made the bellicose remark in the television program “From Phoenix to the World,” aired on Feb. 15 on the broadcaster Phoenix Television. Phoenix is based in Hong Kong but widely understood to be part of Beijing’s overseas propaganda apparatus.
“In the past, we used to rule out linking the North Korea nuclear problem with Taiwan,” said Yu. “But now, I think that if the United States wants to stubbornly go down the military path [against North Korea], China could consider thinking about North Korea and Taiwan as one problem,” she continued.
“If United States does not rule out the use of military force to resolve the North’s problems, our longstanding view is also that we should never rule out the use of force against Taiwan.”
