Taiwan warned people on Tuesday that China had fired a “missile” and asked them not to do it.
This message comes at a time when tensions are high between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is getting ready for its election, which China doesn’t want to happen, which will make things more tense.
But the warning got mixed up. In English, it said “[Air Raid Alert] Missile flyover Taiwan airspace.” “Be careful.” It was a translation mistake that made people think that a rocket had been sent to Taiwan, which was not the case.
It was misread as “missile” when it was meant to be “satellite” in Chinese, which caused fear. Any way you look at it, Taiwan’s foreign minister called it a “pattern of harassment.”
The Einstein Probe satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on January 9th on a Long March-2C rocket. This sent a warning to Taiwanese officials.
As this Saturday’s election in Taiwan draws near, the stakes are higher than usual because China doesn’t want Taiwan to have any kind of autonomy. Taiwan is very careful with its air defense to make sure nothing gets through.
The warning came in while Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu was in the middle of a press conference. He checked his phone to make sure it was a satellite, told the reporters not to worry, and then went on with the conference.
Even though this is a satellite, Taiwan still sees it as an act of harassment because they are about to hold an election that could end all ties with China. On the other hand, China wants to keep Taiwan under its control because it is close to its shores and was once a part of China. The outcome of this election will decide that.
