Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

But American politics is not just a matter for the White House.

The U.S. Congress subsequently voted on the matter, with the House of Representatives and the Senate each voting on whether to support Lee Teng-hui's visit to the United States.

The House of Representatives passed the resolution with 216 votes in favor and 180 against; the Senate passed it with 46 votes in favor and 52 against. The close votes demonstrate the deep division within the U.S. Congress on the Taiwan issue.

According to the legislative process in the United States, a resolution can only be binding if both houses pass it. The Senate’s rejection means that Congress did not pass a resolution supporting Lee Teng-hui’s visit to the United States.

The White House breathed a sigh of relief, the State Department breathed a sigh of relief, and they could now give an explanation to Beijing.

But they couldn't stop Lee Teng-hui himself.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In mid-May 1995, Lee Teng-hui departed from Taipei for Tokyo. Taiwan and Japan had a visa-free arrangement (although not formal diplomatic relations, it was actually very convenient for people to travel between the two countries). He stayed in Tokyo for two days, ostensibly on a private visit, where he met with several right-wing politicians and scholars in Japan, and also had a conversation with Shinzo Abe, a well-known right-wing member of parliament.

It is clear that Japan, which has already shifted to the right, is very concerned about Taiwan's position. The US and Japan have a visa-free agreement, and the US has also sent a signal to Japan. Naturally, Japan is willing to provide some assistance to Lee Teng-hui for the sake of both its own and the US's strategies.

And so, Lee Teng-hui flew from Japan to the United States on May 22.

He certainly wasn't using a Republic of China passport, because the U.S. State Department had already explicitly rejected his visa application. He was using a "special travel document" provided to him by the Japanese authorities—which was actually a fake passport.

Regardless of what method he used, he landed at New York's JFK Airport via Japan.

U.S. customs and immigration officials did not stop him; a person on the U.S. State Department's visa blacklist was tacitly allowed to pass through U.S. customs and enter the country.

The incident caused an uproar in Beijing, not only because Lee Teng-hui went to the United States—although that was serious enough—but also because of a statement he made in a speech:

"I came to the United States via Japan, and I hope that Taiwan and Japan can continue to maintain a friendly and mutually supportive relationship."

Old Zhong's bloodlust is rising.

Taiwan enters the United States through Japan, Japan provides the passage for Taiwan, and the United States tacitly approves at the end—a carefully designed chain that bypasses formal channels and infuriates Beijing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately summoned the US ambassador to China, using extremely strong language: "The US bears an unshirkable responsibility for this matter," "It has seriously damaged the political foundation of China-US relations," and "China reserves the right to take all necessary measures."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also summoned the Japanese ambassador to China, saying that "Japan's facilitation of Lee Teng-hui's visit to the United States has seriously damaged Sino-Japanese relations."

This is extremely embarrassing for China, because Lee Teng-hui's actions clearly indicate to Taiwan that they think China's diplomatic pressure is insignificant and can be bypassed in this almost mocking way, while also dragging in China's arch-enemy, Japan!

Beijing is waiting for an explanation from the United States.

The whole world is waiting.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The United States' first reaction was to offer a perfunctory apology.

The White House issued a statement: "The U.S. government was unaware of the situation beforehand. Mr. Lee Teng-hui entered the country in an unofficial capacity, and his remarks do not represent the position of the U.S. government. The United States' One China policy remains unchanged, the United States does not support Taiwan independence, and the United States regrets the inconvenience this matter has caused to China."

In short, they acknowledged that something happened but denied the government's responsibility, expressed regret but did not apologize.

Regret and apology are completely different levels in diplomatic language, and it's clear that the White House has its own agenda.

Most European countries are less concerned about the Taiwan issue; they are more interested in the Balkans.

Japan quickly distanced itself from the matter, stating, "Japan respects individual freedom of travel. Mr. Lee Teng-hui's itinerary during his stay in Japan was his personal arrangement, and the Japanese government is not responsible for the itinerary of foreigners after they leave Japan."

This rhetoric may be legally plausible, but it won't fool anyone politically. At least Japan knew Lee Teng-hui was going to the United States from Japan, and it didn't stop him.

The Soviet Union, as always, supported peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Strait and took no further action. Slava judged that the current situation was an internal affair of China and a matter between China and the United States, and that it was not yet appropriate for the Soviet Union to intervene. However, if the situation in the Taiwan Strait escalated to the point of affecting the entire security landscape of the Asia-Pacific region, then Soviet intervention would be necessary.

The leader had previously asked Slava about this matter: "Why did you support the One China principle and China's commitment not to renounce the use of force to reunify Taiwan before, but now you don't stand up and make a statement?"

Slava replied, "If I were to help a bullied student in school, the first thing I would need to see is whether the bullied student has the courage, determination, and will to fight back. I would want to know if he is willing to uphold the bottom line rather than just paying lip service."

If China can truly demonstrate its determination and will to defend the red line in this incident of Lee Teng-hui provoking the country's red line, then I would naturally be willing to hand over a knife to help Lao Zhong—the US imperialists have ridden right into the face of the socialist camp, and the Soviet Union, as the big brother, isn't going to stand up for itself?

But if Lao Zhong fails to demonstrate resolve and take action to defend the red line, then I can only offer verbal support. In that situation, even if the Soviet Union intervenes to help Lao Zhong, it won't be of any use; we both understand the principle that "you can't make a good person out of nothing."

Director Nian sighed.

"Like the Palestinians, they should resist even though being weak and resisting a powerful Israel would only cause more casualties."

Resistance itself is meaningful; only by resisting can everyone have an excuse to help it.

China was invaded by so many countries when it was at its weakest, and after more than a century of humiliation and hardship, it finally stood up again. Even if China is internally unstable and its people are demoralized, it is still much stronger than it was more than a hundred years ago! Sovereignty has always been the bottom line for a country. Back then, China dared to fight the Soviet Union, the United States, and Vietnam for its sovereignty at Zhenbao Island. There is no reason why it should not dare to defend its principles now.

I believe Jiang Huaimin will make the right choice.

“Well then, let’s wait and see—get the Pacific Fleet into a state of readiness, and move the Mediterranean Fleet toward the Arabian Sea. I hope Jiang Huaimin won’t disappoint me.” Slava stared at the world map and nodded.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After Lee Teng-hui's successful visit to the United States and his political speech, Gephart was under great pressure as the situation became a fait accompli.

The first pressure comes from the traditional hawks in Congress, a significant portion of whom are Cold War veterans and look down on the younger generation of Biden who rose to power through populism.

These people are primarily Republican lawmakers, but there are also some Democratic hardliners who believe Gephart is too soft on China. They criticize Gephart for compromising with China on human rights, making concessions on trade, and kowtowing to China on the Taiwan issue.

Joe Biden, now a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated directly in a closed-door meeting:

"Our stance toward Beijing has made allies across Asia doubtful! Can we still rely on the United States? Taiwan is watching, Japan is watching, South Korea is watching, the Philippines and Indonesia are watching! If we don't even have the courage to invite an alumnus back to his alma mater to speak, what kind of leader are we in the free world?"

Moreover, the Sino-Soviet conflict just occurred last month, making this a good opportunity to test the actual depth of Sino-Soviet relations.

To what extent was the Sino-Soviet friendship genuine? Was it merely a formality or substantive? If something happened in the Taiwan Strait, would the Soviet Union truly stand up for China?

China and the Soviet Union had already achieved friendship in recent years, and the United States' strategic posture in East Asia has been deteriorating. Taiwan is one of the few remaining strategic assets of the United States on the first island chain.

Provoking the issue is a win-win situation, because if the White House establishment chooses to publicly punish Taiwan in order to appease Beijing, it would be tantamount to sending a signal to the entire Asia-Pacific region that the United States would abandon its partners in order to avoid offending the Sino-Soviet axis of evil.

Even if the White House establishment doesn't want to provoke trouble, it's objectively difficult for them to impose substantial punishment on Taiwan.

When the risk is low and the reward is high, a qualified businessman must learn to take risks.

Therefore, many hawks in Congress saw this as a window to test the waters; since they had nothing to lose, they might as well use the Taiwan Strait crisis to force the Soviet Union to take a stand.

If the Soviet Union had provided substantial support to China, it would at least have confirmed the worst-case scenario. In that case, the United States would still have an excuse to return to the Asia-Pacific region, spread the threat theory to bleed its Asian allies dry, and also benefit the military-industrial complex, which would lead to better employment and the economy.

If the Soviet Union only makes verbal statements without taking military action, it proves that the ceiling for Sino-Soviet friendship is lower than it appears on the surface, and that this gap can be exploited in the future.

The second pressure comes from the military-industrial complex.

Although the Cold War was still ongoing, the Soviet threat was being managed in Gephardt's narrative. Yes, the Soviet Union was not as formidable as before, and the US and the USSR seemed to be competing economically and ideologically rather than militarily.

This is not good news for the military-industrial complex. The US defense budget was already declining due to the previous Great Depression. If the Soviet threat was not so great, why should the US spend so much money to buy weapons?

The military-industrial complex needs new threats to justify its existence.

China, as a rising power with increasing military strength and ideological opposition to the United States, is the most readily available new threat, and the Taiwan Strait, a hotspot where conflict could erupt at any moment, is the best window to demonstrate this threat.

If tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait, the United States will need to deploy more military forces in the Western Pacific—more aircraft carriers, more fighter jets, and more missiles—and then military orders will come in.

If Lao Zhong backs down, the military-industrial complex will have an excuse to "defend Taiwan's democracy" to sell a large amount of arms to Taiwan, while also further violating China's red lines in the South China Sea—the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia all have their own plans for the South China Sea, and then they can sell another wave of arms!

Moreover, Japan is also a problem. After the bubble economy crisis, the United States chose to loosen the reins and allow Japan to pursue defense autonomy in order to appease Japan. This time, perhaps it is possible to try to form an alliance between Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines to help the United States share the military pressure.

Japan will inevitably agree. For Japan's right-wing political forces, this is a golden opportunity to use the situation in the Taiwan Strait to push for constitutional revision, expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' operations, and pave the way for future normalization as a nation.

In short, we win!

The third pressure comes from ideology.

The Cold War was not merely a power struggle between major nations; it was also an ideological war. Taiwan completed its Western-style democratic transition in the early 1990s, transforming from a one-party dictatorship to a multi-party democracy. Lee Teng-hui was Taiwan's first democratically elected president (although the direct election in 1995 had not yet been held, he was already widely recognized as a symbol of democratic Taiwan).

In American political discourse, "supporting Taiwan" and "supporting democracy" are linked. Opposing Lee Teng-hui's visit to the United States is tantamount to opposing a "democratic leader" speaking in the United States, which is somewhat difficult to justify ideologically.

During the Great Depression, the United States’ global influence shrank. Although the takeover of Japan and the annexation of British finances proved that the United States’ economic strength was recovering, its military and ideological credibility required separate actions to rebuild.

If the United States doesn't dare to take any action in the Taiwan Strait, what will the Philippines, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries think? They will feel that the United States has tacitly acknowledged the dominant position of China and the Soviet Union in the Asia-Pacific region, and then they will start to seek support from Beijing or Moscow.

The Taiwan Strait crisis presents a relatively cost-effective opportunity to demonstrate America's return to the world.

These three forces, all sharing the same goal of escalating the situation, came together in the summer of 1995, collectively leading to the current predicament.

They dare not openly escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait—that's too politically sensitive; the White House would object, and public opinion would backfire. But if they were to force a fait accompli, then the White House would have to face the consequences.

Now, Gephart has to negotiate with opinion leaders from various factions in Congress. He first met with Biden, the leader of the largest anti-establishment force within the Democratic Party. After learning the opinions of these veterans in Congress, he also felt that this was a promising opportunity. Biden even suggested:

"You have been president for nearly eight years by this time. According to the pace of American politics, voters have long lost interest in you and the Democratic Party."

You need to project strength diplomatically. If the Taiwan Strait crisis is handled properly—if Beijing reacts militarily in anger—then we should deploy an aircraft carrier to drag Japan into the conflict and demonstrate our military power. However, we must control the intensity of the response so as not to actually provoke a war.

If the crisis is ultimately resolved peacefully, you can project an image of 'maintaining world order' in the election without actually fighting a war.

Mr. President, you don't need to really care about democracy in Taiwan; you just need to appear tough on television.

Biden also outlined the benefits the US could gain from this incident, successfully persuading Gephart to only offer a superficial apology to China based on these interests.

Biden didn't mention the military-industrial complex's thoughts because he knew Gephart didn't like them. If Beijing conducts military exercises, deploys missiles, and moves its fleet near the Taiwan Strait, Beijing's military posture will make the American public and Congress realize that the Chinese threat is real—then China hawks will have more political capital to push for a tough China policy, and the military-industrial complex will have more reasons to demand increased defense spending.

Lee Teng-hui was a pawn pushed onto the chessboard to test Beijing's reaction.

Those who pushed him didn't care if he got captured; they cared about how Beijing would react. No matter how Beijing reacted, those who pushed the piece would win.

The only thing that loses is the piece itself.

But Lee Teng-hui did not see himself as a pawn; he saw himself as a politician who was taking risks for Taiwan’s future, or perhaps he was both.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On May 25, 1995, two days had passed since Lee Teng-hui's speech.

The whole world is waiting to see what Beijing will do next.

Will the government take a hard line, engaging in military actions, missile tests, and naval exercises; or will it merely issue diplomatic condemnations, summon the ambassador to issue a statement, and then return to the negotiating table?

Beijing’s choices will determine the course of the Asia-Pacific region for decades to come.

If Beijing chooses a hardline stance, the Taiwan Strait will enter its most dangerous period since the 1958 shelling of Kinmen. The United States, Japan, the Soviet Union... all major powers with interests in the Pacific will be drawn into this storm.

If Beijing chooses to exercise restraint, Taiwan will have more room to maneuver. The next time might not be an alumnus returning to their alma mater to give a speech, but rather the president of the Democratic Republic of Taiwan making an official visit to Washington.

The winds in the Taiwan Strait are beginning to shift.

In the summer of 1995, the biggest crisis in decades began to brew in the Pacific Ocean.

In June 1995, the People's Liberation Army launched six Dongfeng-15 ballistic missiles into the waters north of Taiwan, and conducted a second round of test launches in July.

On July 15, the Chinese People's Navy announced that it would conduct a large-scale military exercise, including amphibious landing operations, along the Fujian coast on August 1.

This is the most explicit military deterrent action taken by the mainland against Taiwan since the Kinmen Artillery Battle in 1958.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen issued an ultimatum to Lee Teng-hui, who was still visiting Japan: "Don't say you weren't warned."

The pressure is now on Japan and Taiwan.

Chapter 140 I have never hated my own weakness so much

August 1, 1995, Army Day.

The People's Liberation Army began to operate according to the predetermined exercise plan, and simultaneously entered the exercise state in Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong along the southeast coast.

Judging from the scale, subjects, and deployment locations of the exercise, everyone knows it's aimed at Taiwan. The exercise included: amphibious landing drills—amphibious forces from the 1st and 31st Army Groups conducted a large-scale landing exercise along the Fujian coast, with hovercraft and landing ships emerging from the port in succession;

Electronic warfare drills – PLA electronic countermeasures units conducted simulated jamming of radar and communication frequencies in the direction of Taiwan.

Missile test launch – The Second Artillery Corps erected a launcher for the Dongfeng-15 short-range ballistic missile at the launch site.

CNN immediately published the satellite photos in the media, promoting the "China threat" theory to unite the nation. Under Western propaganda, the exercises over the past few weeks have almost turned into a narrative that "China wants to annex Taiwan by force, and the United States and other countries in the free world want to contain China's militaristic tendencies and defend freedom!"

Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have reached their highest point since the shelling of Kinmen in 1958.

...

Behind this large-scale exercise, Lee Teng-hui was not nervous. He knew the whole truth, that this PLA exercise was just an exercise and not a real military attack on Taiwan, and even that the Dongfeng-15 warheads launched by the PLA were blanks!

Once China's true intentions were revealed, Lee Teng-hui viewed this massive exercise, supposedly "demonstrating the determination to defend national sovereignty," as nothing more than a circus clown performance. He saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate his will and confidence to the people of Taiwan.

Because Taiwan has a very high-ranking spy in the People's Liberation Army—Liu Liankun.

In 1992, in order to obtain military intelligence from the mainland, Taiwan formulated a defection operation codenamed "Project Shao Kang". The main target of this operation was to recruit high-ranking officials of the People's Liberation Army in order to obtain internal intelligence from the PLA leadership.

Taiwan's first target was Shao Zhengzong, the director of the Ordnance Department of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army. In order to win over Shao Zhengzong, the Taiwanese side sent Taiwanese businessmen as spies to approach him and bribe him with money in order to win him over.

In this way, Shao Zhengzong became friends with the Taiwanese spy. The spy, posing as a friend, often took him out for lavish parties and constantly described to Shao Zhengzong how wonderful life was abroad.

Gradually, Shao Zhengzong lost his way and began to yearn for a life of wealth and luxury, even revealing to the spy his desire to live abroad. Seeing that Shao Zhengzong's resolve had wavered, the spy stopped pretending and directly confessed his identity, turning Shao Zhengzong to the side. From then on, Shao Zhengzong had a new spy codename: "Shao Kang No. 1".

In late 1992, Liu Liankun, then serving as the Minister of Ordnance of the General Logistics Department, missed the opportunity to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general due to his own mistakes. Afterwards, with no hope of promotion, he vented all his emotions on the organization and harbored resentment towards the Party organization. Liu Liankun's dissatisfaction was clearly seen by his subordinate Shao Zhengzong.

By this time, Shao Zhengzong had already been turned by the Taiwanese side, and one of his important tasks was to develop higher-level spies so that high-ranking PLA figures could provide intelligence to the Taiwanese side and work for them.

Shao Zhengzong felt that since his superior Liu Liankun no longer trusted the organization, now was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation and turn him against his superior. Once he successfully turned Liu Liankun against his superior, he could get more money from the Taiwanese side and use this achievement to ask Taiwan to let him go abroad to live a good life!

Afterwards, in order to successfully turn Liu Liankun against his cause, Shao Zhengzong began to speak ill of the organization in front of him, causing Liu Liankun to completely lose faith in the organization. In addition, Shao Zhengzong would also talk about Taiwan's policies when the two were alone, making Liu Liankun waver.

Seeing that Liu Liankun was wavering, Shao Zhengzong took the opportunity to reveal his identity and openly persuaded Liu Liankun, constantly describing how good the treatment and how much money the Taiwanese side was offering.