This article condemns the Sankei Shimbun for distorting coverage of the LDP leadership race and argues that Sanae Takaichi is the only credible choice for Japan’s next prime minister.
It then analyzes Sekihei’s September, 2024 column explaining the U.S. “Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act,” unanimously passed by the House, which targets the hidden U.S. assets of Chinese Communist Party elites.
By threatening asset freezes and financial exclusion, the bill pressures CCP officials to internally obstruct Xi Jinping’s planned invasion of Taiwan.
China’s sudden avoidance of the Taiwan issue at the Xiangshan Forum reveals its vulnerability.
The piece concludes that Japan must develop its own “Japan Version Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act” to prevent a regional crisis.

Below is Sekihei’s regular column published in the Sankei Shimbun on September, 2024.
It is essential reading not only for the Japanese people but for the entire world.

This article discusses the “Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act,” which was unanimously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 9, 2024.

The main points of the bill are as follows.

Its purpose is to deter China from invading Taiwan.
Sanctions include:
the public disclosure of illicit assets held by Chinese officials around the world;
cutting off access for those officials and their families to the U.S. financial system;
and the freezing or confiscation of such assets.

Sekihei notes that this bill targets the Achilles’ heel of the Chinese Communist Party leadership—the hidden assets they maintain in the United States—and suggests that these officials, in order to protect their personal wealth, may obstruct Xi Jinping’s plans for an invasion of Taiwan from within the regime itself.
He evaluates it as a powerful “war-prevention bill.”

It coincides chronologically with the shift in tone seen at the Shangri-La–style “Xiangshan Forum” held in Beijing on the 13th, November, immediately after the bill’s passage, where Chinese officials notably avoided mentioning Taiwan.

Shock of the U.S. “Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act”

On the 9th of this month, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act.
The bill includes sanctions allowing the public disclosure of illicit assets held by Chinese officials around the world, the blocking of their and their families’ access to the U.S. financial system, and the freezing of those assets.
Regarding the purpose of the bill, Congressman French Hill, one of its co-sponsors, said the following.
“The bill seeks to inform the Chinese Communist Party of this: if they put Taiwan in danger, their financial situations will become known to the Chinese public, and they and their relatives will face severe financial sanctions.”

That is, if this bill becomes law and the Chinese Communist Party regime proceeds with an invasion of Taiwan, not only would the hidden assets that CCP officials and their relatives maintain in the United States be exposed to the public, but those assets would also be subject to sanctions, including freezing or confiscation.
The bill aims to use this leverage to prevent the CCP regime from launching an invasion of Taiwan.
It will undoubtedly become a powerful “war-deterrence bill.”

It is an “open secret” that the vast majority (if not nearly all) of the senior officials who support the CCP regime hold hidden assets in the United States.
If such assets become vulnerable to freezing or confiscation under U.S. law, it becomes a matter of life and death for the collective of CCP officials.

In 2021, Xie Feng, then China’s Vice Foreign Minister, met with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Tianjin, at which time it became known that he handed the U.S. a list of “requests of things to stop.”
At the top of that list was “restrictions on entry visas for CCP members and their families.”

In other words, CCP officials hold their “treasured” assets in the United States, and restrictions on entry for themselves and their relatives pose a major problem for the entire regime.
That is why it topped the list of “things to stop.”
This in turn reveals exactly where the “Achilles’ heel” of the CCP regime lies.

Once the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act becomes law, senior CCP officials—including military leadership—will have to obstruct and prevent Xi Jinping’s planned “war of Taiwan annexation” from within, simply to protect their own wealth.
That is precisely the purpose of the bill.

If so, Xi’s and the regime’s plan to invade Taiwan will become more difficult than before.
If they push ahead with a war of annexation, they will turn virtually all senior CCP and military officials into enemies, and can expect various forms of internal obstruction.
In extreme cases, the bill may even trigger a collective revolt among senior officials, which could weaken Xi’s resolve.

Immediately after the bill’s passage, on the 13th, an important shift occurred in China’s remarks at the Xiangshan Forum, an international security conference held in Beijing.
In his keynote speech, Defense Minister Dong Jun stressed “mutual respect” and “peaceful coexistence” with other countries, yet did not mention “Taiwan” even once.
This contrasts sharply with last year’s forum, where Zhang Youxia, the PLA’s top uniformed officer, declared in the same keynote speech, “The Chinese military will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China,” expressing strong determination for “Taiwan annexation.”

Meanwhile, Taiwan welcomed the bill enthusiastically.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Lin Chia-lung, said on the 10th, “With such a law, we can more clearly block the expansion of the CCP and protect peace in the Indo-Pacific region, especially the stability and safety of the Taiwan Strait,” showing growing confidence in Taiwan’s defense.

How to prevent a Taiwan contingency before it happens—including the legalization of this bill—is a crucial challenge for the international community.
Japan, too, should consider enacting a “Japanese version of the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act.”