China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview.
During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern.
During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That plan includes bolstering Taiwan’s military deterrence, treating economic security as national security, developing partnerships with other democracies, and maintaining steady and principled leadership on cross-strait issues.
Photo: Screengrab from CH50’s YouTube channel
Lai cited recent expressions of support for Taiwan from the international community, including those from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the leaders of some EU countries, as well as statements made during the G7 summit in June.
Those statements all said that “maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity,” Lai said, adding that they illustrated the need for Taiwan to “stand united with the international democratic camp.”
On the issue of economic resilience, Lai said that only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, down significantly from 83.8 percent in 2010.
Taiwanese businesses are dispersing those investments elsewhere including Japan, the US, Europe and Southeast Asia, he said.
Commenting on regional security alliances, Lai cited the establishment of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the AUKUS security partnership, the Five Eyes alliance and the US-Japan-Philippines summit, which he said showed that democracies are cooperating near the Taiwan Strait.
Responding to rumors that Washington was concerned about Lai lacking diplomatic experience, and that it did not want him to transit through the continental US, Lai denied them and said that he did not have any plans to visit the US in the immediate future.
A White House official also dispelled rumors about US concerns about Lai’s administration during a news conference on Aug. 23.
“Everything that we have seen come out of Taipei indicates that the current leadership remains committed to maintaining status quo, and peace and stability,” the official said.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
COUNTERING HOSTILITY: The draft bill would require the US to increase diplomatic pressure on China and would impose sanctions on those who sabotage undersea cable networks US lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to bolster the resilience of Taiwan’s submarine cables to counter China’s hostile activities. The proposal, titled the critical undersea infrastructure resilience initiative act, was cosponsored by Republican representatives Mike Lawler and Greg Stanton, and Democratic Representative Dave Min. US Senators John Curtis and Jacky Rosen also introduced a companion bill in the US Senate, which has passed markup at the chamber’s Committee on Foreign Relations. The House’s version of the bill would prioritize the deployment of sensors to detect disruptions or potential sabotage in real-time and enhance early warning capabilities through global intelligence sharing frameworks,
RSS