Written by Yimou Li
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s next president, Lai Ching-toku, will pledge in his inaugural address on Monday to ensure stability by maintaining the status quo in Taiwan’s relations with China, an incoming senior security official says. I made it.
Lai, who will succeed President Tsai Ing-wen, who served as vice president for the past four years, is dealing with China’s increasing pressure on democratic Taiwan to accept its sovereignty, including near-daily military incursions into its airspace. would have to. , this claim was strongly rejected by Taipei.
Lai, 64, has repeatedly proposed dialogue with China but has been rebuffed by Beijing, which has not renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Mr. Lai and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) insist that only Taiwanese people can decide their own future.
“We will continue the basics set by President Tsai and discuss a stable and steady approach,” the incoming official said on condition of anonymity at a news conference in Taipei.
“While we strive for Taiwan to play an essential role in the global economy and geopolitics, we will maintain the status quo and work with all parties to ensure that the status quo is not undermined,” he said.
But the official said the new administration would face a “more difficult and complex challenge” at home and abroad as China launches “more provocative” military incursions, alarms Taiwan on a daily basis, and begins to exert influence that polarizes public opinion. He said he would have to face reality. Taiwan.
“We will continue to clearly demonstrate to the international community that it is the other side that continues to destroy international order and undermine opportunities for cross-strait exchanges,” the official said.
The China Taiwan Affairs Office said this week that the “new leadership of the Taiwan region” faces a clear choice between peaceful development and conflict, but did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In the lead-up to Lai’s January election victory, the Chinese government repeatedly denounced him as a formal supporter of Taiwan’s independence and cast the vote as a choice between war and peace.
China claims that any move by Taiwan to declare formal independence is grounds for attacking Taiwan. The Taipei government said that Taiwan is already an independent country as the Republic of China and has no intention of changing that. The Republican government lost a civil war against Mao Zedong’s communists and fled to Taiwan in 1949.
In the days leading up to Lai’s inauguration, China has escalated routine military activities, including mock attacks on foreign ships near Taiwan, sources earlier told Reuters.
The incoming official said Lai is committed to further modernizing Taiwan’s defenses and continuing plans to manufacture its own military aircraft and warships.
“Our goal is to ensure that conflict never occurs,” the official said.
Lai, widely known by his English name William, also faces major challenges at home, given that his Democratic Progressive Party lost its parliamentary majority in January elections.
Lawmakers clashed in a chaotic parliamentary session on Friday as the two main opposition parties pushed ahead with controversial parliamentary reforms, including making it a crime to give false answers in parliament.
Lai wrote on Facebook early Saturday morning, calling for “reasoned” discussions to restore harmony and reach an agreement.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
