Taïwan face à la menace chinoise" conference, Tuesday, December 13

Registration required for face-to-face or remote participation in the conference.

At the beginning of August, Taiwan became, in the space of a few days, one of the most scrutinized points of tension in the international community. All it took was a visit to the island by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, for Beijing to cry "provocation" and launch massive military maneuvers, blockading Taiwan and its 24 million inhabitants. While warships have since moved away, Chinese planes and drones cross the median line that normally serves as a barrier between the two territories almost every week.

Xi Jinping, whose powers were strengthened at the 20th Communist Party Congress, seems more determined than ever to take control of the neighboring island. He has surrounded himself with loyal generals from the powerful Central Military Commission. One of them, He Weidong, was at the forefront of recent exercises around Taiwan.

The Taiwanese government, for its part, is asserting its right to self-defense and is refining its doctrine of "asymmetrical warfare" with a view to annihilating any attempt by China to land on the island. Faced with the economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation imposed by China, Taipei is trying to draw on the support of the United States and its allies.

What is the level of risk of a major slip-up in the Taiwan Strait? Can the numerically superior Chinese army so easily conquer Taiwan and its 24 million inhabitants? What help can we expect from Washington, which has pledged to support Taiwan in the event of aggression, without specifying the contours?

With:

• Sébastien Colin, sinologist and geographer, senior lecturer in the China department at Inalco.
• Juliette Genevaz, lecturer in political science at Jean Moulin University (Lyon III) and associate researcher at the French Institute for Research on East Asia (IFRAE/Inalco)
• Pierre-Antoine Donnet, journalist at Asialyst, former AFP correspondent in Beijing.

Moderator :

• Baptiste Fallevoz, journalist at Asialyst and France 24. Former correspondent in China.

Co-organizers: Inalco and Asialyst.com