On Tuesday, Taiwan issued a national emergency alert as China launched a satellite. The alert comes days before the self-ruled island holds its presidential election.
The Alert
Phones across Taiwan rang with a “presidential alert” at about 3:15 p.m. local time, just after Beijing announced the successful launch of its Einstein Probe satellite, which it said aims to gather astronomical data.
1. On 1503 hr today, the MND detected the Long March rocket launched by the PRC’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center entered and left our ADIZ after passing from Tainan to Taitung.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) January 9, 2024
“China launched (a) satellite which flew over the southern airspace. Public, please beware of your safety,” the Taiwanese alert said in Chinese.
The English part of the alert described the launch as an “air raid alert,” warning citizens of a “missile” flying over Taiwanese airspace. However, officials said this was a mistranslation.
The island nation, which China claims to be part of its own territory, said that its defence ministry was also tracking the satellite’s trajectory to “appropriately alert and respond” to the situation. The ministry added that the satellite was at high altitude while crossing Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also assured reporters that it was indeed a satellite, and explained that the alert had been issued because of threat posed by possible “debris.”
2. The MND monitored and verified that the rocket debris from the launch all fell within the PRC’s territories. No unusual situation was detected.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) January 9, 2024
“When a rocket is openly flying in our sky, some of their tubes or debris will fall in this region. That’s the reason why our national alert centre will issue this kind of alert. It has happened before,” he told reporters at a news conference.
The defence ministry later apologised for its inaccurate reference to a missile in the mobile phone alert.
The alert messaging is based on national security considerations and is processed in a professional manner by a delegated authority. It is not affected by or subject to any party politics.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) January 9, 2024
China’s Influence on Elections
The alert was issued hours after election front-runner Lai Ching-te, the island’s current vice president, accused China of employing “all means” to influence the 13 January polls.
For instance, in his New Year’s message, Zhang Zhijun, the head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, a quasi-official body that overlooks the mainland’s ties with Taiwan, said that the Taiwanese faced an important choice in the election.
“The two elections coming up in the Taiwan region are important choices between the prospects for peace and war, prosperity and decline,” Zhang, who headed Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office from 2013 to 2018, said.
“Taiwan compatriots must stand on the right side of history, and make a correct choice to promote cross-strait relations back to the right track of peaceful development,” he added.
Intelligence gathered by the island nation in December has showed that senior Chinese leaders met earlier to “coordinate” government efforts to sway Taiwan’s upcoming elections, especially with the Publicity Department and a psychological warfare unit under the People’s Liberation Army.