Will not bow to pressure from Beijing: Taiwan prez after Xi’s ‘unification’ call

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said the island is facing “unprecedented challenges” and will defend its sovereignty, pushing back after Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared a day earlier that unification will be achieved.

Taipei hopes for an easing in cross-strait ties, and resolving differences requires dialogue on the basis of parity, Tsai said in a televised National Day address on Sunday. The government will do its utmost to maintain the status quo amid a “complex regional landscape”. Taiwan will keep bolstering its defences to ensure nobody can force them to accept the path China has laid down that offers neither freedom nor democracy, she said.