The Taiwanese president asks his troops to defend “national sovereignty” against Chinese “annexation”
MADRID, June 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of Taiwan, William Lai, addressed Taiwanese troops this Sunday on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of its Military Academy to insist that the island of Taiwan and China “are not subordinate to each other,” an idea that is in line with his speeches in favor of an island independent of Beijing, which in turn considers Taiwanese territory as a province in rebellion.
“I insist that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, I insist on defending national sovereignty and the inviolability of annexation, on securing the future of Taiwan, the Republic of China. Let us work together to defend national sovereignty, safeguard national dignity and bring glory and prosperity to the country,” Lai said during a speech.
In that sense, he has spoken about the need to defend the country against the challenge of the “strong rise of China”, which seeks to “destroy the ‘status quo'” of the island through its “annexation and elimination.”
“The most important mission is to courageously shoulder the great responsibility of protecting Taiwan and maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Only with sovereignty can a country exist, and only through Taiwan can the Republic of China exist” , has added.
The Taiwanese president has also criticized those “defeatist” politicians, criticizing the motto of ‘the first battle will be the last battle’, which refers to a collapse of Taiwan at the beginning of an invasion by the Chinese Army.
“Today, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait not only attracts the attention of the international community, but is a necessary element of global security and prosperity,” he added.
It should be noted that last week, Lai expressed that, according to International Law, Taiwan is an independent country and that China must accept its existence, as stated during an interview with Time magazine.
“The People’s Republic of China must recognize that the Republic of China exists. (…) Since in Taiwan we have had our own citizens, lands, sovereignty and Government for decades, according to International Law, we are already a sovereign and independent country. “My goal is to unite the people of Taiwan,” he said.
From Beijing, the Chinese authorities have reiterated on numerous occasions that Taiwan’s independence will not be tolerated and that they will not rule out the use of force to prevent secession. Ties between China and the island of Taiwan, which it considers another province under its sovereignty, were severed in 1949, after the forces of the nationalist Kuomintang party suffered defeat in the civil war against the Communist Party and moved to the archipelago. Relations were reestablished only at a business and informal level in the late 1980s.
