Taiwan asks why China is not claiming Russian land

If the Chinese Communist party (CCP) truly believes it has a territorial claim to Taiwan, then it should also be trying to take back land from Russia, Taiwan's president said yesterday.

- Helen Davidson

Lai Ching-te made the remark in an interview with local media, noting Beijing's different approaches to two similar instances of territorial loss.

Under the rule of Xi Jinping, the CCP claims Taiwan is a Chinese province run by illegal separatists, and he has vowed to annex Taiwan under what it calls "reunification".

Beijing says Taiwan has been part of China since "ancient times" but was taken by Japan during the "century of humiliation", the period between 1839 and 1949 during which China was repeatedly subjected to defeat and subjugation.

Complete restoration of China's losses in that time is a driving narrative of the CCP, and today is largely focused on Taiwan.