The Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has said Beijing will use any force necessary to bring Taiwan under its control and that once under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) rule, it would undergo some form of re-education. He made the remarks during an address to journalists. When asked about the potential for China to invade Taiwan, Xiao told reporters that although the use of force was the last thing that Beijing wanted, it could “never rule out the option to use other means”. “So when necessary, when compelled, we are ready to use all necessary means,” he said, as reported by The Epoch Times. “As to what is meant by all necessary means, you can use your human imagination.” The Chinese ambassador also said it was his personal understanding that if an invasion was successful, citizens would undergo “re-education”. He said that Taiwan had been run by “a regional regime for many decades” and that “their perspective” about Mainland China might have different views, requiring “a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China”. The comments from the ambassador mirror those made on August 7 by the Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, who told French media outlet LCI that if Beijing were to take over Taiwan, its 23 million residents would undergo re-education—echoing the situation faced by Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
