Compromising with authoritarian regimes comes at the cost of sovereignty and democracy, President William Lai (賴清德) wrote on Facebook yesterday, ahead of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
In the past few years, China has continuously carried out “gray zone” harassment and military intimidation in the Taiwan Strait, seriously undermining regional peace and stability, Lai said.
Cheng is in China on what she has called a “peace” mission, where she met with Xi yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
“We hold ideals about peace, but they are not unrealistic fantasies. History shows that compromising with authoritarian regimes comes at the cost of sovereignty and democracy — it will not bring freedom, nor will it bring peace,” Lai said.
Peace is achieved through strength, and strength is achieved through long-term, stable investment, he said.
Taiwan needs to show its determination to defend itself to earn allies’ support, he added.
National defense spending this year surpassed 3 percent of GDP, in line with NATO standards, and is expected to reach 5 percent of GDP by 2030, Lai said.
The government has proposed an eight-year, US$40 billion special defense budget to build a “T-Dome,” a multilayered air defense system, which would enhance asymmetric warfare capabilities, he said.
Taiwan hopes to partner with advanced defense industry nations such as the US to jointly establish a line of defense that safeguards democratic values, he added.
It is regrettable that the special defense budget remains stalled in the Legislative Yuan, with opposition parties boycotting negotiations and delaying a plan backed by about 70 percent of the public and supported by allies, Lai said.
Delays weaken Taiwan’s defense capabilities and risk undermining international confidence in its commitment to self-defense, he said.
Facing external military threats and “united front” tactics, ruling and opposition parties should set aside their differences, as national security cannot wait and defense cannot be compromised, Lai said.
An American Institute in Taiwan spokesperson via e-mail said that meaningful cross-strait exchanges should focus on unconditional dialogue between Beijing’s leadership and Taiwan’s democratically elected government, while also encompassing interactions with Taiwan’s other political parties.
The US supports cross-strait dialogue and expects that cross-strait differences would be resolved peacefully, without coercion and in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait, the spokesperson said.
US resolve remains firm, they said, adding that the US would continue to deepen its cooperation with Taiwan, advancing ties in the areas of security, economics, technology and people-to-people exchanges to fulfill the objectives of the Taiwan Relations Act, and contribute to regional peace, security and prosperity.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
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