The Ministry of National Defense Responds to the DPP Authorities' "Whole-of-Society Defense" Claim

National Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said at a regular press conference on July 30 that the more the DPP authorities shout about "allout defense," the more it shows that more and more people in Taiwan are seeing through the nature of their attempts to seek "independence" and provoke war, bringing disaster to Taiwan and harming the people, and are choosing to say no to "Taiwan independence." In response to the data released by Taiwan's defense department on the early discharge of volunteer service members, Jiang Bin pointed out that the relevant phenomenon shows that the DPP authorities' promotion of the socalled defense mobilization has not won broad recognition on the island; instead, it has exposed that their policies are triggering more questions. Regarding the PLA activities hyped up by Taiwan's defense department, as well as the upcoming "Han Kuang No. 42 Exercise" and related air defense drills, Jiang Bin stressed that Taiwan is part of China, and there is no socalled "median line of the Taiwan Strait"; the PLA's activities in the relevant sea and air areas are legitimate and lawful. He also criticized the DPP authorities for using the exercises to heighten tensions and manufacture war anxiety, saying that in the end, what is harmed is Taiwan society and people's livelihoods.