Democratic Taiwan must not become ‘China’s Taiwan’, president says
Written by: Yi-Chin Lee and Ann Wang
TAIPEI, July 19 (Reuters) – Taiwan must work together to preserve its democracy and not become part of China, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday, urging members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to oppose “red terrorism” from Beijing.
Lai, who won the election two years ago, and the ruling DPP defend Taiwan’s separate identity from China; This often angers Beijing, which considers the island an inviolable part of Chinese territory.
Speaking at the DPP’s annual congress, Lai said Taiwan must remain vigilant in times of peace and pointed to what he said was China’s “legal warfare” such as its new ethnic unity law that gives Beijing a basis for action against people outside its borders.
This has alarmed Taiwan because it could give Beijing another legal basis to prosecute or arrest Taiwanese it views as separatists. China rejected all criticism of the law. China’s legal system has no jurisdiction in Taiwan.
“I expect comrades within the party to also stand at the forefront, unite in unity and jointly oppose the threat posed by China’s ‘red terror’ to Taiwanese society,” said Lai, who speaks Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien or Hoklo, rather than Mandarin, the government’s native language. he added.
“We must work together to preserve our democratic and free way of life, and we must never allow ‘democratic Taiwan’ to turn around and become ‘China’s Taiwan,'” he said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has rejected Lai’s repeated calls for talks, calling him a “separatist”.
Lai, who is also DPP chairman, reiterated that Taiwan is already an independent country, its constitutional name is the Republic of China, and it is not affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.
“Regardless of ethnic group, no matter who came before or after, everyone who identifies with Taiwan is the master of the country. Taiwan’s future should be decided jointly by Taiwan’s 23 million people.” he said.
The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists of Mao Zedong, who founded the People’s Republic.
To date, neither government officially recognizes the other, and no peace agreement has been signed to end the civil war or ceasefire.
Lai said that during the last decade of the DPP government, Taiwan did not back down in the face of “authoritarian expansion”, disinformation attacks, military threats and diplomatic pressure.
“Taiwan has shown the world that democracy is not weakness, democracy is strength,” he added.
(Reporting by Yi-Chin Lee and Ann Wang; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
