Taiwan Sees Chinese Fighters While Leaders Meet

Taiwan’s defence office reported that on Friday, 16 Chinese military jets flew close to the island between mid‑morning and mid‑afternoon, a day when Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party in Beijing. The meeting, held at 11 a. m. , was framed by the Taiwanese leader as a chance to calm tensions and push for lasting peace across the strait. Xi, however, reiterated that China would not accept Taiwan’s independence, a stance China considers its own territory. The defence ministry’s daily bulletin highlighted the jet activity as part of a broader pattern. A senior official from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council explained that China often mixes diplomatic signals of peace with military pressure. “Using force to push for talks is a familiar Chinese tactic, ” the deputy minister said in Taipei, pointing out that the two approaches coexist.In Beijing, KMT officials stressed that real peace would come from giving Taiwan’s people a genuine choice: either to negotiate or to face conflict. They argued that engaging China could lead to “peace with dignity, ” contrasting this view with the current Taiwanese president’s approach, which they described as a form of subservience. The president’s office defended the meeting by saying it underscored Taiwan’s place within China while affirming that its future should be decided by its own citizens. The Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to requests for comment, leaving the situation open for further speculation about how each side will balance rhetoric and action.