In the light of the ongoing dispute over air route access between Beijing and Taiwan and the strained relations between the mainland and the island, live fire drills have been carried out in Taiwan in order to safeguard the people of the island from a possible Chinese attack.
The Taiwanese ministry did not specify that the annual drill was a simulation of an invasion by China but said it was intended to “show determination to safeguard peace in the Taiwan Strait and national security”.
Taiwan, which has served as home to twenty-three million people, is an island off the southern coast of China that has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims that the island is a province, while in Taiwan—a territory with its own democratically elected government many eminent politicians have differing views on the island’s status and relations with the mainland.
Some politicians and citizens observe the principle that there is “one China” comprising the island and the mainland, but in their eyes this is the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taipei; others advocate for a rightfully independent Taiwan. China and Taiwan maintain a relationship that walks on a tight rope, but it has been improving during the past seven years.
Amid all these rows, China Eastern and Xiamen Airlines had planned 176 round trips extra over the Lunar New Year holiday which now stand canceled leaving thousandsof passengers stuck.
It is important to note that Cross-strait relations have strained further since the inauguration of Tsai, who refuses to acknowledge self-ruling, democratic Taiwan is part of “one China”.
The Taiwanese government might now use military planes to bring back people wanting to go home to the mainland. According to BBC’s reporter Cindy Sui reporting from Taipei says that would-be passengers wanting to travel between the mainland and the island would probably be flown via Hong Kong or Macau.
Alternatively they could choose a Chinese airline or Taiwanese airline that had not been using the new routes, though the availability of tickets would be an issue.