The international community blames the rise in tension across the Taiwan Strait on China rather than Taiwan, and the reality is that Taiwan is already a country, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Speaking to foreign reporters in Taipei, Lai said it was not President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) or Taiwan that was to blame for tensions.
“The international community understands that recent tensions are not because of President Tsai or because of Taiwan, but because of China,” said Lai, the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for the presidential election in January.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Lai has said he does not seek to change Taiwan’s official name, the Republic of China. Both Lai and Tsai have said that as Taiwan is already an independent country, there is no need for a separate declaration of independence.
The reality is that Taiwan routinely elects its own leaders, from the grassroots all the way to the top, giving it the right to be called a state, he said at DPP headquarters in Taipei.
“In fact, it is a sovereign, independent country; there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the Chinese government has repeatedly called Lai a “liar” and a separatist.
Lai said that China would try and use “various means” to interfere in the election and, if it was successful and affected the outcome, it would seriously damage Taiwan’s democratic system.
“I believe Taiwan’s people will firmly protect democratic values, and courageously decide their own next president,” he said.
Lai said his support for maintaining the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait was “unwavering,” and vowed to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region if elected, reiterating an offer for talks with China based on “parity and dignity.”
China has demanded that Taiwan’s government accept that both sides of the Strait belong to “one China,” which both Tsai and Lai have declined to do, before it would consider talks.
“Real peace cannot come from losing sovereignty for exchanges and cooperation,” Lai said.
In a separate interview that aired on Next TV on Thursday, Lai vowed to promote diplomacy based on universal values if elected president.
Lai proposed boosting “value diplomacy,” or fostering deeper and more stable connections with the international community with values such as democracy, peace and prosperity, he said.
He added that he does not consider the upcoming presidential election as a choice between war and peace, responding to a comment made by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The election is to decide Taiwan’s future — whether to continue its pursuit of democracy or to return to authoritarianism by accepting Beijing’s “one China” principle, Lai said.
“We are unable to choose peace as it has to be earned with strength,” which is why Taiwan is bolstering its defense capabilities and enhancing its economic security, he said.
Lai thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration for its efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait over the past three years.
Washington connected Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan and the Philippines with NATO and the EU to stabilize the global democratic order and safeguard regional peace and security, he said.
Taiwan can contribute to the promotion of peace, democracy and prosperity around the world, as shown during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, adding: “Taiwan can help. Taiwan is helping.”
As it is Taiwanese culture to be friendly, the nation hopes to befriend every country, China included, he said.
The two sides share common enemies, such as natural disasters and infectious diseases, as well as a common goal, which is to improve the well-being of their people, he said.
Thanks to the funds, talent and technologies Taiwanese brought, China has seen rapid economic growth in the past 30 years, he said.
“Taiwan does not ask for anything in return, but only hopes for peace,” he added.
If he has an opportunity to dine with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Lai said that he would treat him to Tainan’s specialty shrimp rice and a glass of bubble milk tea, and tell him that there would be no winner in war.
Additional reporting by Liu Tzu-hsuan
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS