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TAIPEI, Taiwan — With tensions soaring in the Taiwan Strait, China responded to Taiwanese overtures for dialogue by releasing new footage showing a large-scale military exercise simulating an invasion, and a purported confession from a Taiwanese businessman held captive in China on spying charges.
The double-barreled release by the influential China Central Television late Saturday and Sunday signaled a hard line from Beijing on the same weekend that Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen offered conciliatory remarks expressing a desire to hold talks as fears grow that China’s increasing threats toward Taiwan could spill over into military action.
Marking the Oct. 10, 1911, establishment of the Republic of China on Saturday, Tsai delivered a speech in the Taiwanese capital asking Beijing to change its bellicose posture and “jointly facilitate cross-strait reconciliation and peaceful dialogue” — wording that was viewed by both sides of the Taiwan Strait as extending an olive branch amid growing talk of war.