Taiwan wants to continue its free way of life and rejects being ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday while visiting Kinmen County to mark a key battle with Chinese forces.
The Chinese military carried out another round of maneuvers around Taiwan as Lai was making the comments, underscoring what Taipei says are Beijing’s efforts to undermine regional peace and stability.
The scene of fighting during the height of the Cold War, the China Coast Guard since February has conducted regular patrols around Kinmen following the death of two Chinese on a motorboat as it fled from a Coast Guard Administration vessel.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
On his first trip to Kinmen since taking office in May, Lai laid a wreath and bowed in respect at a memorial park for the 66th anniversary of the start of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.
The 1958 crisis was the last time Taiwanese forces battled with China on a large scale.
In August of that year, Chinese forces began more than a month of bombardment of Kinmen and Lienchiang County, including naval and air battles, seeking to force them into submission.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Taiwan fought back with support from the US, although the crisis ended in a stalemate.
Taiwan observes Aug. 23 every year as the date it fended off the Chinese attack.
Addressing veterans at a lunch and speaking off the cuff, Lai said he grew up with stories of the battle, as his uncle served in Kinmen.
Taiwan must resist China’s threats, Lai added.
“Our aim is that we hope for peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is a country that ardently loves peace. Taiwan’s people are kind,” he said.
“We are no longer trying to retake the mainland [China], but we are also unwilling to be ruled by the Communist Party. We want to continue a life of democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law. Right?” Lai added, to shouts of “yes.”
Shortly after Lai returned to Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 27 Chinese military aircraft operating in the Taiwan Strait yesterday, carrying out a “joint combat readiness patrol” with Chinese warships.
It did not give an exact location.
Taiwan sent its own forces to keep watch, the ministry said, using its usual wording for when China carries out such activities.
The ministry reports almost daily Chinese People’s Liberation Army aerial and naval missions around Taiwan.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the latest combat patrol was related to Lai visiting Kinmen.
Lai, speaking to the veterans and their families, said that the government continues to strengthen and spend more on the military and would defend the nation’s sovereignty.
Taiwan’s defense spending is to rise 7.7 percent next year, outpacing expected economic growth, as it adds fighter jets and missiles to boost its deterrence against Beijing.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Jessica Chen (陳玉珍) wrote on social media yesterday that her home of Kinmen should “not become a war zone.”
“The two sides of the Taiwan Strait need peace,” Chen said, having met Song Tao (宋濤), the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, in Beijing on Thursday to discuss reopening Kinmen County to Chinese tourists.
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