Tsai Ing-wen Photo:VCG

Former Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen again targeted the Chinese mainland in a speech at Stanford University on Wednesday, claiming that "cyberattacks, cognitive warfare, information manipulation, and economic coercion have become almost a daily occurrence," while linking the island's technological and manufacturing capabilities with cross-Strait stability, "Indo-Pacific" security and global supply chains. 

A Chinese expert said that such efforts to show allegiance to the US, contain the mainland and geopoliticize global supply chains are highly pernicious and, in essence, amount to selling out Taiwan island. 

Tsai's claims came during her speech at an annual conference held at Stanford University on technology and national security, as part of a US visit that began Monday. Her visit also included a meeting with former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to local media reports. 

In the speech, she claimed that "Taiwan now has to do more than prepare for a major military contingency," while continuing to strengthen its ability to defend itself amid sustained pressure, per CNA.

Tsai's efforts to hype Taiwan island's so-called international status and ultimately pursue the containment of the mainland and the promotion of "Taiwan independence" are "extremely pernicious," Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean and a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Especially when it comes to her claim that Taiwan manufactures nearly all of the advanced accelerators used in US AI systems, this is essentially selling out the island," Zhang said.

It is worth noting that this is Tsai's first visit to the US since leaving office. US broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) noted that she is participating in discussions on international security through US universities and policy research institutions in her capacity as a former Taiwan regional leader.

"Against the backdrop of current China-US relations, the repeated promotion of 'Taiwan independence' and the escalation of so-called gray-zone activities represent an especially dangerous trend," Zhang said.

The visit also came after the second so-called Resilient Taiwan for Sustainable Democracy International Forum was held on Taiwan island on September 19, which sought to portray Taiwan island as a provider of so-called "resilience" experience to the international community.

"From 'playing the victim' to showing 'resilience,' this narrative brings an increasing number of civilian industries into the national security framework, as it tries to further politicize and geopoliticize global industrial and supply chains," Zhang said.