China’s state-run Global Times on Tuesday compared the Donbas region of Ukraine, currently overrun by two Russian-backed separatist entities, to the sovereign state of Taiwan, urging the G7 member countries to grant “unwavering support” to a Chinese invasion of the island.
The remark, published through the Global Times‘ Twitter account – which the propaganda outlet possesses despite a blanket ban on Twitter in China – was a response to mounting criticisms of Russian leader Vladimir Putin who announced on Monday that he would recognize the separatists of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine, as two sovereign states. Putin ordered Russian “peacekeeping” troops into the Ukrainian territories to defend the separatists from the Ukrainian military. Russia has been fueling a war between its proxies and Ukraine in the region since 2014.
Putin’s recognition of the territories as states complicates China’s relationship with Russia, as Beijing refuses to recognize even actual sovereign states like Kosovo if other states claim them as their own, equating all such movements with Taiwan. Taiwan is a sovereign, democratic country that has never been governed by any regime in Beijing.
The G7 is an inter-governmental forum consisting of member states with the world’s largest developed economies: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Japan, France, and Italy. The group also includes the European Union (E.U.).
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss prompted the Global Times remark by publishing a statement on Twitter reading in part, “our support is unwavering for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
The Chinese newspaper’s social media page compared Taiwan to Donetsk and demanded support for “eradicating” the Taiwanese government.
The Global Times is a daily tabloid owned by the People’s Daily, which is an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk came after the Russian Security Council held a meeting on February 21 “focused on the current situation around Donbass in the context of the Russian lower parliament house’s resolution on the recognition of the Donbass republics,” according to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency.
The Global Times referred to Taiwan on Tuesday when comparing China’s territorial disputes with those between Russia and neighboring Ukraine. Taiwan is a democratically-ruled, independent island nation located off China’s southeastern coast. Beijing considers Taiwan a “renegade” province of China. The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly vowed to “reunify” Taiwan with China, most recently in November 2021.
“In a virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, [Chinese leader] Xi [Jinping] stated China’s principled position on the Taiwan question,” Xinhua, China’s official state press agency, reported citing a November 16, 2021, conversation between the two heads of state.
“Calling achieving China’s complete reunification an aspiration shared by all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, Xi said, ‘We have patience and will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts.'”
“That said, should the separatist forces for ‘Taiwan independence’ provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we will be compelled to take resolute measures,” Xi added.