The warning came from a tabloid controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Chinese state-controlled tabloid
The Global Times has warned Taiwan that it could face the same fate as Afghanistan if it continues to count on the USA as an ally.
The paper's editorial began by describing how the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan directly led to Taliban forces quickly seizing control, describing this as a "heavy blow to the credibility and reliability of the US."
It then listed similar situations, such as the fall of Saigon in Vietnam in 1975, and said that the US also "abandoned their allies, the Kurds" when it withdrew troops from northern Syria in 2019.
The editorial said: "Some historians also point out that abandoning allies to protect U.S. interests is an inherent flaw that has been deeply rooted in the U.S. since the founding of the country."
The paper didn't just stop at recent history either. The editorial went all the way back to American War of Independence, claiming that America also betrayed France soon after the French helped the original colonies gain independence from Britain in 1783.
According to
Newsweek, the
Global Times made the comparison between Taiwan and Afghanistan, claiming that the two were similar as Taiwan had sought support from the US.
It added: "Taiwan is the region that relies on the protection of the U.S. the most in Asia, and the island's Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] authorities have made Taiwan go further and further down this abnormal path."
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The paper noted that the situation in Afghanistan had escalated after "the country was abandoned by the US," and asked whether this was "some kind of omen" for Taiwan's future.
Due to its close proximity to China, Taiwan is an important asset for them in East Asia. The island's division from China dates back to the end of the Chinese Civil War, when the republic forces retreated to the island following their defeat to the communists, and is still officially called the Republic of China.
The tabloid says that the US makes money through "arms sales and forced pork and beef sales to the island."
It finished with some advice to Taiwan's leaders: "They need to change their course of bonding themselves to the anti-Chinese mainland chariot of the U.S."
