Taiwanese President Lai Ching Te says he hopes to have orderly exchanges with Beijing
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President Xi Jinping reiterated in his New Year’s speech that no one can stop China’s reunification with Taiwan.
Beijing has been ramping up its military presence near Taiwan, sending warships and aircraft almost into the waters and airspace around the self-governing island of 23 million people.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and rules out the use of force to bring the island back into its fold.
Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949, rejects Beijing’s claim saying that only its people can decide their future.
“People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are a circle of relatives,” Xi said in a televised address on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “No one can break the ties of our family circle and no one can prevent the historic trend toward national reunification. »
This comes a month after China organized a naval reinforcement around Taiwan after Taiwanese President Lai Ching Te made stops in Hawaii and the U. S. territory of Guam during a Pacific vacation criticized by BeijingArray.
Tensions remained high throughout the year in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, especially after Lai, considered a “separatist” by Beijing, became president in May 2024.
In the last week of December, the Chinese government sanctioned seven in reaction to the US policy of selling arms and aid to Taipei.
Last year, the Chinese leader said reunification with Taiwan was inevitable and that other people on both sides “should be united by a common purpose and share the glory of the Chinese nation’s rejuvenation. “
Taiwan’s president said on Wednesday that he welcomes an equal, dignified, healthy and orderly industry with China. Lai said China blocks general interactions by imposing restrictions on Chinese tourists or academics reading on the island, while similar bans do not apply to Taiwanese traveling to China.
“But I still must emphasize this: Taiwan hopes to have healthy and orderly exchanges with China in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and dignity,” he said.
Reporters should ask China why its citizens can freely travel to countries like the US and Japan but have all these controls when it comes to Taiwan, Mr Lai said. “Is this really showing goodwill towards Taiwan? Can’t they treat everyone equally?”
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