Taiwan's president William Lai made news a couple weeks ago when he made some strong statements about mainland China, calling the country a "foreign hostile force." That's objectively true but in China's eyes it's also unspeakable.

In some of his strongest rhetoric yet amid worsening cross-strait ties, Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te has labelled China a "foreign hostile force".

He said Taiwan had "no choice but to take even more proactive measures" as a result, as he announced a raft of new national security measures, including reinstating a military court system and tightening the residency criteria for those from China, Hong Kong and Macau...

President Lai said China had "taken advantage of Taiwan's freedom" to recruit different members of society, including current and former armed force members, organised crime groups and the media to "divide, destroy and subvert us from within".

Taiwanese authorities charged 64 people with spying for China last year - a three-fold increase from 2021 - Lai claimed, adding that the majority of them were current or former military officials.

The Chinese have always hated Lai and were furious about his comments. They responded with a barrage of attacks on Lai and threats against Taiwan, saying reunification was non-negotiable.

Lai Ching-te's obstinate stance on "Taiwan independence" and his rampant provocation and confrontation once again prove that he is an outright "destroyer of cross-Straits peace" and a "creator of crisis in the Taiwan Straits," said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, on Thursday...

Chen emphasized that the island of Taiwan is a sacred and inseparable part of China's territory. It has never been, and will never be, a country. Taiwan belongs to all Chinese people - this is an undeniable historical and legal fact, as well as the status quo across the Taiwan Straits that cannot be changed. Our determination to resolve the Taiwan question and achieve national reunification is as solid as a rock, and our capability is unshakable. We will never allow any person or force to separate Taiwan from China, nor will we leave any room for any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities. If "Taiwan independence" separatist forces dare to cross the red line, we will have no choice but to take decisive measures.

The fact that Taiwan has never been controlled by communist China and that people in Taiwan don't want to be controlled by communist China doesn't matter to the mainland. Today, China carried out what one observer called a "pre-invasion drill" around the island.

Chinese land, navy, air and missile forces would “approach close” to Taiwan and practice “seizure of overall control, strikes on sea and land targets, and the blockade and control of key areas and lanes” at sea, Senior Col. Shi Yi, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army regional command that oversees Taiwan, said in a statement issued on Chinese state-run media.

Sometimes, China’s military does not spell out why it holds drills. This time, officials and state media reports were clear: “This is firm punishment for the Lai Ching-te administration’s rampant ‘pro-independence’ provocations,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Chinese government’s office on Taiwanese affairs, said in a statement.

Ms. Zhu singled out a speech by Mr. Lai on March 13 in which he described China as a “foreign hostile force” and laid out 17 measures that Mr. Lai said would combat deepening Chinese subversion and spying in Taiwan...

“Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party is trying to enhance the effectiveness of its military displays and intimidation by deliberately sending ships within our vicinity, creating opportunities for close armed encounters,” said Chieh Chung, a researcher at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, an organization in Taipei supported by the defense ministry.

In addition to the military action, there was also a propaganda effort aimed directly at President Lai. It included a video picturing him as a bug-like parasite being held by chopsticks over a flaming Taiwan.

The announcement was accompanied by posters declaring that the Chinese military was “closing in” on “Taiwan separatists” and a series of unusually personal attacks on Lai. In one animation, the democratically elected president of Taiwan was depicted as a poisonous “parasite” trying to hijack Taiwan — until he ultimately met a fiery end...

Beijing has sought to undermine Lai by exploiting rising doubts about American support.

“History proves that the U.S. only gives Taiwan superficial ‘rock-solid’ support, while long preparing to ‘abandon Taiwan’ for its own interests,” the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper said Tuesday...

“We want to warn the Lai administration that if they continue to pursue ‘independence,’ the People’s Liberation Army will take further action,” Lt. Col. Fu Zhengnan, a researcher at the state-run Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, told state media.

China has already indicated many times that it plans to "reunify" with Taiwan by force if necessary. In other words, you either hand your separate and distinct country to China or they take it by force. If those are the only options then threats probably aren't going to be effective since force was already on the table long before now. Unless Taiwan is ready to surrender, nothing has changed.

Here's the creepy video of President Lai as a parasite being taught a lesson by Chinese fighter jets.

Video #3 features an animation of Taiwanese president Lai as a "parasite poisoning Taiwan island," "parasite hollowing Island out," (with Lai throwing his opponents in jail and grabbing money), and finally "parasite courting ultimate destruction," with Lai being "burned" by PLA… pic.twitter.com/HwPNVqAUDH

— Lyle Morris (@LyleJMorris) April 1, 2025