China threatened new trade measures against Taiwan on Tuesday, piling on pressure ahead of weekend elections, as Taipei complained of more Chinese balloons and the ruling party’s presidential candidate warned against “fake peace” with Beijing.
Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place against a backdrop of a ramped-up war of words between Taiwan and China, which views the island as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the Taiwanese government.
Taiwan has accused China of an unprecedented campaign of election interference, using everything from military activity to trade sanctions to sway the vote toward candidates Beijing may prefer.
China has cast the election
