TAIPEI (Reuters – Taiwan wants the world to sanction China for the war against Ukraine, as it does Russia.

Taiwan joined Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion in Ukraine. Belarus was also added to the list on Friday.

These symbolic gestures are due to Taiwan’s low levels of trade with Russia or Belarus.

However, the public sympathy for Ukraine has been high in Taiwan because of what many see as similarities between what’s happening in Ukraine and what might happen if China uses force to seize the island.

Wu addressed reporters in Taipei during an event commemorating the creation of the European Union. Wu explained that it was vital to support others by condemning and sanctioning Russia as well as Belarus.

“If we face threats from China or invasion, in the future we will hope the international community understands Taiwan and can sanction aggressive behavior.” he said.

Wu stated that Taiwan stood with the international communities and took these actions in regard to the sanctions.

Since the Ukraine war, Taiwan raised its alert level, fearful of China’s similar moves. However, the Taipei government has not reported any signs of imminent Chinese attacks.

China, which has not condemned Russia’s invasion, has dismissed any comparisons with Taiwan, saying it is not a country and merely a Chinese province, a view the democratically-elected government in Taipei strongly disputes.

You Si-kun (the Taiwanese parliament speaker) said Ukraine “performed very good”, standing up against Russia for more that 70 days, and earned Taiwan’s “admiration”.

“We wish Ukraine victory and we will fight to the bitter end.”

It is not clear how the rest of the world will react to the Chinese invading Taiwan. This is due to the fact that many countries (including the United States) only have diplomatic relations with Beijing and not Taipei. Also, unlike Ukraine, Taiwan does not recognize Taiwan as a country.