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Taiwan Presidential Candidate Wants Peace with China. PHOTO/Reuters
TAIPEI – Vice President Taiwan William Lai, promised to maintain a peaceful status quo with China . However, he is also determined to defend Taiwan, as he leads the ruling party ahead of an expected presidential nomination.
Lai was elected as the new chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) at the end of last week, after President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as chairman in November, following the DPP’s defeat in local elections.
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Lai is widely tipped to be the party’s presidential nominee in early 2024 elections, although he has yet to formally accept the nomination. Tsai cannot run for president again due to constitutional term limits.
As in the last election, which the DPP won handily by pledging to stand up to China, ties with Beijing are likely to be high on the agenda for 2024, especially as China ramps up pressure for Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.
Speaking to reporters after formally taking over as party chairman Wednesday (18/1/2023), Lai said he was facing threats from China. The mission of the DPP is to protect Taiwan, but peace is the common hope of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
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“We will use our best efforts to maintain the status quo of peace and stability in the region,” Lai said, as quoted by Reuters. He added that peace also depended on national defense.
Lai angered China in 2018 when he became prime minister. He told parliament he was a “Taiwan independence worker” and his position was that Taiwan was a sovereign and independent country – a red line for Beijing.
Asked about the comments, Lai said he was committed to following Tsai’s policies which include declaring only the Taiwanese people can decide their future, and that the Republic of China – Taiwan’s official name – and the People’s Republic of China are “not subject to each other”.
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“The pragmatic acceptance is that Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country and there is no need to declare Taiwan independence separately,” he added.
China has refused to talk to Tsai since she first took office in 2016, believing she is a separatist. Tsai said the Republic of China on Taiwan was already an independent country, and Beijing had no right to claim it.
(esn)
