TAIPEI, September 13 ------ The head of Taiwan's top China policy body said that the democratic island would never surrender in the face of intensifying pressure from a "more aggressive" Beijing. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and has said it would never renounce the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. Beijing has ramped up military and political pressure on Taipei in recent years, sending warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island nearly daily.
Chiu Chui-cheng, the chief of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council — which manages China-related issues — said Beijing's "attempts to erase the sovereignty of the Republic of China" — the island's official name — have threatened peace and stability across the region. But faced with the "unprecedented pressure, our determination to safeguard our sovereignty and democratic system has never been so strong. This is our bottom line," Chiu Chui-cheng said in an English-language speech at the Taipei Security Dialogue defense forum in the capital Taipei. "On this point, there is no room for compromise. We never succumb to the saber-rattling and intensifying pressure from China. Taiwan never surrenders," he added. Chiu also warned that Chinese leader Xi Jinping's policy toward Taiwan would "only become more assertive and aggressive" as he hoped to achieve "national unification" with Taiwan. "This ambition is no doubt the root causes of risks in the Taiwan Strait," he said.
China maintains a military presence around Taiwan, as well as the nearby South China Sea, as Beijing has increasingly pressed on its territorial claims. Also on Thursday, Taipei's Defense Ministry said 29 Chinese military aircraft, eight naval vessels and one official ship were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6 a.m.
In May, three days after Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te was sworn into office, Beijing conducted war games to simulate a blockade of the island. Lai, whom Beijing regards as a "dangerous separatist," rejects China's claim of Taiwan, just as his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen did. He has repeatedly made overtures to restart dialogue with Beijing — which were severed after Tsai came to power in 2016 as relations plunged — to no avail.
Chiu reiterated on Thursday that Taiwan was willing to talk with Beijing "without any political preconditions on the basis of mutual respect, dignity and equality." "We hope the leaders of the other side will display wisdom and flexibility toward a win-win future for both sides of the Taiwan Strait," he said.
Source: manilatimes.net
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