President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her Double Ten National Day speech yesterday called on China to act as a “responsible large nation” should — assuming a benign rather than quarrelsome role in the Asia-Pacific region and the world — as she vowed to maintain cross-strait peace and the democratic lifestyle of 23 million Taiwanese.
“Taiwan, at the forefront of the West Pacific, is under great pressure,” Tsai said.
China has in the past few years resorted to brow beating Taiwanese and restricting Taiwan’s international space, which has damaged cross-strait relations and is seriously challenging peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Tsai said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The redistribution of labor along the international supply chain, resulting from the US-China trade war, has disrupted international trade and increased the geopolitical complexity of the Indo-Pacific region, as well as cross-strait relations, the president said.
Some might demand a tougher stance from the government, while others wish for greater compromise, but Taiwan’s best course is to maintain stability in times of radical change, to face China’s pressure with equanimity and find a niche for survival, Tsai said.
This has been the government’s stance over the past two years, she said, adding that every responsible political figure and political party should resolve to uphold the greater consensus of the public.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The free and democratic way of life of 23 million Taiwanese — as well as efforts to ensure the sustainable development of the Republic of China, and maintain peace across the Strait and regional stability — must be continued, Tsai said.
“The government that I lead must show Taiwan’s toughness to the world,” especially when the world is overreacting to China’s rapidly expanding influence, she said.
Any unilateral attempt to change the “status quo” of cross-strait relations would never be accepted by Taiwanese, and any claim contravening universal values would never be recognized or supported by the international community, Tsai said.
Tsai guaranteed that Taiwan would not escalate tensions, but that the nation would not back down or compromise either.
“We will not move toward confrontation and conflict due to momentary passion, or move cross-strait relations toward danger — nor will we turn from the will of the people and sacrifice the sovereignty of Taiwan,” Tsai said.
Taiwan cannot afford miscalculations in times of such rapid change, she said.
“The solution is to maintain stability, remain flexible and seek advancement,” she said.
A strong nation is a prerequisite for any effective strategy, thus Taiwan must improve its national security and economic health, as well as a social safety net to make Taiwanese stronger, Tsai said.
The niche in which Taiwan can continue to survive is to become an even more indispensable member of the global community, she said.
The challenges that Taiwanese face are not limited to military threats, but also include diplomatic oppression, social infiltration and economic insecurity, she said.
The task at hand is to establish a comprehensive strategy and commence with efforts to strengthen national security, she said.
The first aspect of national security to be addressed is the strengthening of valuable diplomatic ties, and making the nation strategically invaluable, Tsai said.
During turbulent international developments, Taiwan — which is of great strategic importance geopolitically — must be resolute in its defense of democracy and the market economy, she said, adding that these things have served as the basis for Taiwan’s economic development and for the nation becoming a model of democratization in Asia, she said.
Facing pressure from China over the past two years, Taiwanese have demonstrated a high degree of resilience and determination in protecting their values, and like-minded nations have increasingly expressed their support, she said.
The second aspect to be addressed is the improvement of the nation’s defense capabilities, which involves a multi-tier approach, Tsai said.
Her stance has always been to steadily increase the defense budget each year, she said, adding that the military can satisfactorily defend the nation’s sovereign territory.
The third aspect is that the nation have a national security strategy capable of obstructing any attempt, foreign or domestic in origin, from destabilizing Taiwan’s economy, or its society, the president said.
Taiwan’s democracy must be defended at any cost — the government would not sit idly by if any country attempted to take advantage of that democracy to infiltrate and wreak havoc on Taiwanese society, she said.
Whether through the dissemination of disinformation, unauthorized acquisition of technology-related information, the compromising of information security systems or interference with the political system and elections, anyone proven to have committed such acts would be severely dealt with, she said.
The government has used international cooperation to counter the spreading of disinformation by parties in certain countries, she added.
Tsai said the lighthouse keepers, who were invited to sing the national anthem at yesterday’s ceremony, served as an analogy of Taiwan, which is like a beacon.
The nation’s democratization has been a light to outshine the darkness that Taiwanese had to pass through, and acts as a guide to all who seek democracies of their own, she said, adding that she hopes the people of Hong Kong and China be inspired by Taiwan.
“When the world sees Taiwan’s beauty, we will not be lonely,” she said.
“Taiwan will march bravely and resolutely forward. Taiwanese have always come together for the nation, deriving strength from unity,” Tsai said.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a