Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control.
The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口).
The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media that pledged benign rule if the nation comes over to Beijing under a similar system of autonomy applied in Hong Kong and Macau.
“Only strength can bring true peace,” Lai, whom China views as a “separatist,” told soldiers at the battalion commissioning ceremony.
“Accepting the aggressor’s claims and abandoning sovereignty certainly cannot achieve peace. Therefore, we must maintain the ‘status quo’ with dignity and resolve, firmly opposing annexation, aggression and the forced advancement of unification,” Lai said.
“We reject ‘one country, two systems,’ because we will forever uphold our free and democratic constitutional system,” he added.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
No major political party in Taiwan supports China’s “one country, two systems” idea.
The Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate” to each other and “Taiwan’s sovereignty cannot be violated or annexed,” and its future can only be decided by its people, Lai added.
“The Taiwanese people safeguarding their sovereignty, and preserving their democratic and free way of life should not be viewed as provocation. Investing in national defense is investing in peace,” he said.
Lai has pledged to increase military spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030, bolstering Taiwan’s defenses in the face of the increasingly visible threat from China.
Taiwan has so far received 80 of the 108 M1A2T tanks it ordered from the US, the nation’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
The M1A2T tank can fire high explosive anti-tank warheads and kinetic energy ammunition, such as armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot rounds, designed to destroy armored vehicles.
Washington is bound by law to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself, although US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any new arms sales since he took office earlier this year.
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