Taiwan rejects pressure from China to reunify
TAIWAN’S president has vowed to defend the island from China’s increasing pressure for reunification, following a week of unprecedented tensions with Beijing.
Speaking at the country’s National Day celebrations yesterday, a rare show of Taiwanese defence capabilities in the annual parade underlined Tsai Ingwen’s promise to resist Chinese military threats.
“We will do our utmost to prevent the status quo from being unilaterally altered,” she said.
“We will continue to bolster our national defence and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us.”
China claims Taiwan as part of its national territory although the island has been self-ruled since it split from the Communist-ruled mainland in 1949 after a civil war.
Ms Tsai emphasised the island’s vibrant democracy in contrast with Beijing’s deeply authoritarian, single-party Communist state.
“The path China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people,” she said.
Surveys show Taiwanese overwhelmingly favour their current de-facto independent state and strongly reject unification with China, which has vowed to bring the island under its control, by military force if necessary.
Ms Tsai rarely singles out China in her public speeches, but yesterday she acknowledged the increasing tensions Taiwan has faced as Chinese military harassment intensified. Since September last year, China has flown fighter jets towards Taiwan more than 800 times.
Since last Friday, China has sent a record-breaking number of fighter jets towards international airspace close to Taiwan.
The island has strengthened its unofficial ties with countries like Japan, Australia and the US in the face of these perceived threats.
“But the more we achieve, the greater the pressure we face from China,” Ms Tsai said in her speech.
Following the address, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence showed off a range of weaponry including missile launchers and armoured vehicles, while fighter jets and helicopters soared overhead.
These included a formation of F-16, Indigenous Defence Fighters and Mirage 2000s, which left wide white contrails in their wake.
The show of air power was followed by a group of CM32 tanks, and trucks carrying missile systems.
Ms Tsai said Taiwan wants to contribute to peaceful regional development, even as the situation becomes “more tense and complex” in the Indo-pacific.
On Saturday, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, said reunification with Taiwan “must be realised”, while claiming “peaceful” reunification is possible.