# median line

Beijing’s 24‑Hour Counterpunch to Lai Ching‑te: Diplomacy and Air Power Tighten the Noose

Beijing responded within 24 hours to Vice President Lai Ching‑te’s comments and Taiwan’s defence budget push with coordinated diplomatic rebuke and intensified PLA air‑sea patrols. The episode highlights the erosion of informal cross‑strait norms and the rising tempo of coercive signalling that raises the risk of miscalculation in the Taiwan Strait.