China accuses Taiwan of forcing its people to be ‘cannon fodder’

BEIJING - China’s military accused Taiwan on July 30 of forcing its people to become cannon fodder as it raged against recent drills by the island’s armed forces.

Taipei’s leaders “under the banner of protecting Taiwan, are harming and destroying Taiwan, and coercing the people to be cannon fodder”, Beijing’s defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang told a regular news conference.

Taiwan in July held the

10-day “Han Kuang” military drills

.

Rather than only repelling a Chinese attack on its shores, Taiwanese troops in 2025 also practised fighting invading forces in city streets.

Beijing’s military on July 30 fumed over the exercise, describing them as “merely a show”.

“They cannot change the inevitable demise of Taiwan independence,” Mr Zhang said, accusing Taipei’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of hatching an “evil plot”.

“We sternly warn the DPP authorities that unjust deeds will bring destruction, no matter what efforts they try, it will all be in vain,” he added.

Meanwhile, Taipei said on July 30 it had detected 33 sorties of Chinese “main and auxiliary warplanes”, 23 of which entered its airspace.

“Coordinating with naval vessels under the so-called ‘joint combat readiness patrol’, they have harassed our surrounding air and sea areas,” the island’s defence ministry said.

Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Taiwan is keen to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its defence capability.

But this week reports emerged that US President Donald Trump’s administration had denied permission for Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te to transit in New York as part of an official trip to Latin America in August.

Taipei’s foreign ministry in response said Mr Lai had not been blocked from visiting the United States and that

he had no plans to travel overseas

“in the near future”. AFP