Taiwan seeks 'peaceful coexistence' with China

 
Taiwan seeks "peaceful coexistence" with China with free and unrestricted interaction, but the island will be democratic for generations to come, President Tsai Ing-wen said in her last National Day speech on Tuesday.Taiwan is claimed by China as its own territory. The island has come under increasing military and political pressure from Beijing. This includes two major sets of Chinese war games near Taiwan since August 2022, Reuters reports.

These manoeuvres have heightened fears of a conflict which would have global ramifications.
Ms Tsai, who cannot stand again for president at the election in January after two terms in office, has repeatedly offered talks with China, which has rejected them as it views her as a separatist.She said the strength of international support for Taiwan had reached an "unprecedented height".

"Since this is a time we can now face the world with confidence and resolve, we can also be calm and self-assured in facing China, creating conditions for peaceful coexistence and future developments across the Taiwan Strait," she added.Ms Tsai said it was her duty to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and its democratic, free way of life, seeking "free, unrestricted and unburdened interactions" between the people of Taiwan and China.

Differences between Taiwan and China must be resolved peacefully and maintaining the status quo is "critical" to ensuring peace, she added, to a big round of applause.China's Foreign Ministry responded to Ms Tsai's speech on Tuesday, calling the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities the "greatest threat" to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait for "seeking independence and provocation".

"No matter what the DPP authorities say or do, they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is a part of China. It will not change the general trend that China will inevitably move towards reunification," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing.