TAIPEI – Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Saturday to maintain the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid high tensions with China, which has stepped up military pressure on the island.
Taiwan will not provoke and will not bow to Chinese pressure, she said in a speech at the presidential office in Taipei to mark the seventh anniversary of her governance.
China, which considers Taiwan as its own and vows to bring the island under its control, by force if necessary, has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure to force Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty since Ms Tsai took office in 2016.
Beijing has rebuffed calls for talks, regarding Ms Tsai as a separatist. She has repeatedly vowed to defend Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
“War is not an option. Neither side can unilaterally change the status quo with non-peaceful means,” Ms Tsai said. “Maintaining the status quo of peace and stability is the consensus for both the world and Taiwan.”
She added: “Although Taiwan is surrounded by risks, it is by no means a risk maker. We are a responsible risk manager, and Taiwan will stand together with democratic countries and communities around the world to jointly defuse the risks.”
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) rich nations agreed that they are seeking a peaceful resolution to the issues linked to Taiwan, the host of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said on Friday.
Ms Tsai said Taiwan officials are in discussions with US President Joe Biden’s administration on sending US$500 million (S$672 million) worth of weapons to Taiwan, adding that the aid is meant to address deliveries of weapons delayed by Covid-19.
She also stressed the global importance of Taiwan, which produces most of the world’s leading-edge semiconductor chips, and vowed to keep the most advanced chip technologies and research and development centres on the island.
Taiwan is gearing up for a key presidential election in mid-January, with China tensions set to top the campaign agenda.
Representing the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party for the mid-January vote, New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih said on Saturday that Taiwan faces a choice between peace and war under Ms Tsai’s rule, and he vowed to keep regional stability through unspecified dialogue and exchanges.
“The fears for war will never drive away the hope for peace,” Mr Hou said at an event in Taipei to kick off his election campaign, vowing to defend Taiwan.
Mr Hou is running against Vice-President William Lai from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The KMT, which favours close ties with China, has framed the 2024 vote as a choice between war and peace.
Asked about the opposition’s stance on the elections in the presidential office, Ms Tsai said maintaining peace should be the consensus for all political parties in Taiwan, and that one should not “sell the fears of war for election gains”. REUTERS
