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While the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority in Taiwan is "self-indulging" in expressing so-called empathy for Ukraine's situation and vowed to enhance military readiness in the island, netizens from across the Taiwan Straits seem to have clearer minds as they mocked the DPP for being pathetic and desperate to believe that the US will stand with them if a war breaks out in the Straits one day, as Taiwan is not Ukraine.

In a statement late Wednesday night, US President Joe Biden said that he would imminently announce "further consequences" for Russia, in addition to sanctions unveiled earlier in the week after blasts were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other cities. Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine, Biden said. 

The statement stirred a wave on the island's social media platforms, with many pro-DPP netizens mocking themselves that "what happened in Ukraine is a fresh lesson! If we continue to blindly believe that the US will come to support us, we should prepare fending for ourselves." 

A Facebook user who tags himself as the biggest fan of Tsai Ing-wen wondered why the legendary US army has not showed up yet. 

A netizen on PTT, one of the largest web forums on Taiwan island, asked, "will it also take only two hours for the mainland to reunify Taiwan by force?" Another one answered: to be honest, I don't think we can hold that long [as Ukraine]." 

While the Taiwan question has become one of the hottest topics in international news in 2021, and concerns over a potential war in the Straits are rising sharply, official voices of the mainland still adhere to the basic policy to do its best to achieve peaceful reunification, but will not commit itself to ruling out the use of force.

However, the Ukraine tension has also caused rising sentiment about "reunification with Taiwan by force" on Chinese social media as some netizens from the Chinese mainland believe that the rising provocation from the secessionist DPP authority, as well as the US which is playing the "Taiwan card" to harm China's security and sovereignty, has worn out the mainland's patience, ignored its kindness to seek a peaceful reunification and constantly pushed the situation to the verge of war. 

Some netizens, especially military fans, on Twitter-like Sina Weibo suggested that the Russian acts in Ukraine just created a "window" for the mainland to consider the option of reunification by force to solve the Taiwan question once and for all, as the Biden administration is very unlikely to send forces to interrupt the reunification process while it has big headache in Europe at the same time.    

Analysts noted that the sentiments across the Straits showed how pathetic and desperate it is for DPP authorities to latch on to and exploit the Ukraine issue to their advantage. They stressed that Taiwan is not Ukraine as the island has always been an inalienable part of China's territory which is an indisputable historical and legal fact.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying reiterated at Wednesday's press conference that Taiwan has never had a sovereignty and the Taiwan region's peace hinges on the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, rather than fawning on foreign forces for arms sales and military support. "Taiwan independence" only leads to a dead end. No one shall have any illusion or make any miscalculation on this issue. 

It is common knowledge that the Taiwan question was caused by a civil war, and there is political confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits due to that civil war. However, China's sovereignty and territory have never been divided and cannot be divided. This is the status quo of the Taiwan question, Hua said. 

At Thursday's press conference, Hua noted that "even today, we still face the real threat of the US and its so-called allies, willfully interfering in China's internal affairs and undermining China's sovereignty and security on Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan-related affairs. China is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that has not fully reunified its homeland."

Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang also noted on Wednesday that the DPP authority has been playing along with the US and Western rhetoric and exploiting the Ukraine issue to maliciously hype the so-called "military coercion" from the Chinese mainland, behind which hides their evil intention to "internationalize" the Taiwan question and incite "anti-mainland" sentiment on the island. 

Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, pointed out voices comparing Taiwan with Ukraine aim to set a trap, as they purposely treat both as "democratic countries," mix the approach of internal affairs with diplomatic means and see both the Taiwan region and Ukraine as the pawns of a great power game. 

The DPP hyping the Ukraine issue aims to see how determined the US was in defending "democracies" and seek protection from the US, Cui told the Global Times on Thursday, noting that for some Taiwan secessionists who were scared of the US' withdrawal from Afghanistan, it would be a "Kabul moment" once again and a failure of US policy if the US only paid lip service on the Ukraine issue. 

They naively think that the US can "protect" its little brother, but have forgotten the famous quip from Henry Kissinger "it may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."

Some in the US  linking Ukraine with Taiwan was out of a strong ideological propaganda motive, as well as a consideration to build political momentum to prevent the messing up of its US strategic layout in Europe and Asia, Cui said. 

The dream of Taiwan secessionists to get shelter under the US will soon disappear and people in the island will have a closer understanding of on outside forces' alleged protection on Taiwan, "Taiwan protection" by outside forces, which may change the public sentiment toward "reunification or secessionism," the expert said.