Dangerous territory: Is Taiwan next on China's list? | To The Point

Tensions between China and Taiwan are being described as the worst in decades. This after Beijing ordered dozens of warplanes to fly repeatedly over Taiwan's air defense zone, prompting accusations of intimidation. China's head of state, Xi Jinping, warned ominously that, as he put it: "It has never ended well for those who betray the motherland." The US, meanwhile, has warned China against any further provocation.

So, on TO THE POINT, we ask: Dangerous territory: Is Taiwan next on China's list?

Guests:

Deutsche Welle colleague Melissa Chan, who presents DW's News Asia show. She says: "Xi Jinping has gone after China's Uyghur minority, then Hong Kong, and even its tech billionaires. So, why wouldn't he go after Taiwan?"

Gudrun Wacker, an Asia expert from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, who believes that: "China's saber-rattling is a message to Taiwan that the balance of power between the two sides makes unification inevitable and resistance pointless."

Felix Lee, from the Berlin-based daily the TAZ, or Tageszeitung, spent many years as a correspondent in Beijing. And Felix asks: "Will China go for the military option? That depends on the US and its allies. Certainly, Xi Jinping will not risk a full-blown conflict with the West."

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