Taiwanese must be ‘re-educated’

After reunification, Lu Shaye reiterated, secessionist thoughts should be erased from their minds. Words that echo those used by Beijing for the repression in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. It is not the first time that the Chinese envoy has made controversial statements.

Paris () – The Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, reiterated that the inhabitants of Taiwan must be “re-educated” when the “rebellious” province is reunited with mainland China.

The Beijing envoy made the remarks in the second interview in a few days with a French channel, in which he criticized the recent visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Following the official line of his government, Lu justified the response of his country, which for six days has been carrying out extensive military maneuvers around the island.

Speaking to LCI television, Lu said that the re-education of Taiwanese is necessary because the Taipei authorities have “indoctrinated and intoxicated” the population with anti-Chinese education. According to the senior Beijing diplomat, it is necessary to erase “secessionist thoughts and theories” from the minds of the island’s inhabitants.

Despite being a functioning state, Communist China regards Taiwan as a province of its own that it must reconquer. The exercises in recent days are intended to simulate a military blockade of the island and its eventual invasion, and many experts believe that this could be attempted within 5 to 7 years. Taiwanese are increasingly hostile to reunification with Beijing, also considering the democratic nature of their government.

Lu’s words are reminiscent of those used by Chinese leaders to defend their policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. In its autonomous province, Beijing is accused of carrying out a genocide of Uyghurs and other minorities of the Islamic religion and Turkish speaking; in the former British colony for having suppressed and silenced the democratic movement.

This is not the first time that Lu has made controversial statements. In February 2021, he sent a letter ordering French senator Alain Richard not to visit Taipei that summer, prompting a harsh response from the Foreign Ministry in Paris.