Described as an "irreducible separatist-independence fighter" by Beijing, Taiwan's foreign affairs minister Joseph Wu was one of the first three Taiwanese to be sanctioned by China in May 2021. "I feel very proud of this. Actually, a lot of people here in Taiwan are very jealous of it!" he joked in an exclusive video interview with Le Monde on December 29, 2023.

However, he said the sanction is not based on the reality of the last eight years during which his party, the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party, pro-independence, according to its charter), was in power, and has, contrary to Beijing's accusations, been vigorously attempting to "safeguard the status quo of peace and stability over the Taiwan Strait."

With the Taiwanese presidential election less than two weeks away, Wu insisted on the "very moderate and responsible" stance that the island has consistently maintained under President Tsai Ing-wen since 2016, despite the rising tensions across the Strait and between Beijing and Washington. Wu said the president has endeavored to "ensure that the Chinese government does not have any excuse to launch a war against Taiwan" even as it "strengthens [its] security or defense capabilities so that the Chinese government understands that it will not be able to take Taiwan easily."

Although the gap between the two main candidates is narrowing, polls suggest that the DPP, led by current vice-president Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai), could hold on to power for a third four-year term. He could therefore defeat Hou Yu-ih of the Kouomintang (KMT), the old nationalist party and prominent rival of the Chinese Communists during the civil war. Paradoxically, the KMT has become the only party with which Beijing now accepts dialogue due to its more conciliatory attitude.

China is trying to convey the idea that the elections are a choice "between war and peace," or "prosperity [if the KMT wins] and economic slowdown [if the DPP wins]," Wu said while denouncing "more sophisticated [Chinese] interference in our national elections."

"For the Taiwanese government, we need to ensure peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and we need to avoid the war from happening. War means disaster for a lot of people, including Taiwan itself, and also China and other countries who get involved. So we want to avoid war," the foreign affairs minister added.

But the minister acknowledged that the security situation in the Taiwan Strait is not good. "The Chinese military threat against Taiwan seems to be increasing, especially over the past couple of years." What's more, China is waging "hybrid warfare" including "disinformation campaigns, cyber-attacks or cognitive warfare, and infiltration into Taiwan. And all of these elements have been increasing." On a more positive note, the minister added that "on the basis of our own analysis here in Taiwan, coupled with that of other intelligence communities, particularly the US, the conclusion at this stage is that war is neither imminent nor inevitable."

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