© Reuters. FILE PHOTO-Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech at the 40th anniversary gala of the Formosa Public Affairs Association, a pro-Taiwan independence group, in Taipei, Taiwan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Saturday to maintain the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait amid heightened tensions with China, which has increased military pressure on the Taiwan-ruled island. democratically.
Taiwan will not provoke and will not bow to Chinese pressure, Tsai said in a speech at the presidential office in Taipei to mark the seventh anniversary of her rule.
China, which regards Taiwan as its own and threatens to bring the island under its control if necessary, has increased military and diplomatic pressure to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty since Tsai took office in 2016.
Beijing has rejected Tsai’s calls for talks, considering her a separatist. Tsai has repeatedly vowed to uphold Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
“War is not an option. Neither party can unilaterally change the status quo through non-peaceful means,” Tsai said. “Maintaining the status quo of peace and stability is the consensus for both the world and Taiwan.”
“Although Taiwan is surrounded by risks, it is by no means a risk generator. We are a responsible risk manager, and Taiwan will join democratic countries and communities around the world to jointly defuse risks,” he said.
The leaders of the wealthy nations of the Group of Seven (G7) agreed that they were seeking a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issues, the host of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said on Friday.
Tsai said Taiwan officials are in talks with US President Joe Biden’s administration about sending $500 million in arms aid to Taiwan, adding that the aid was meant to address arms deliveries. delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stressed the global importance of Taiwan’s supply chain, which produces most of the world’s advanced semiconductor chips, and vowed to maintain the most advanced chip technologies and R&D centers in Taiwan.
Taiwan is gearing up for a key presidential election in mid-January, and tensions with China will top the campaign agenda.
Representing Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), for the key vote in mid-January, New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih said on Saturday that Taiwan faces an election between ” peace and war” under the Tsai government and vowed to maintain regional stability. through unspecified “dialogues and exchanges.”
“Fears of war will never drive away hope for peace,” Hou said at an event in Taipei to kick off his election campaign, pledging to defend the ROC, Taiwan’s official name.
Hou is running against Taiwan Vice President William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The KMT, which favors close ties with China, has framed the 2024 vote as a choice between war and peace.
At the presidential office, when asked about the opposition’s stance on the election, Tsai said that keeping the peace should be the consensus of all political parties in Taiwan and that one should not “sell war fears for electoral gains.” “.