Taiwan’s Tsai says no backing down to Chinese aggression

ABC News:

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan won’t back down in the face of “aggressive threats” from China, the president of the self-governing island democracy Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday, comparing growing pressure from Beijing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tsai’s comments follow the conclusion of the twice-a-decade congress of China’s Communist Party at which it upped its long-standing threat to annex the island it considers its own territory by force if necessary.

The party added a line into its constitution on “resolutely opposing and deterring” Taiwan’s independence “resolutely implementing the policy of ‘one country, two systems,'” the formula by which it plans to govern the island in future.

The blueprint has already been put in place in the former British colony of Hong Kong, which has seen its democratic system, civil liberties and judicial independence decimated.

Speaking to an international gathering of pro-democracy activists in Taipei, Tsai said democracies and liberal societies were facing the greatest host of challenges since the Cold War.

“Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is a prime example. It shows an authoritarian regime will do whatever it takes to achieve expansionism,” Tsai said.

“The people of Taiwan are all too familiar with such aggression. In recent years, Taiwan has been confronted by increasingly aggressive threats from China,” she said, listing military intimidation, cyber attacks and economic coercion among them.

The rising Chinese threat has spurred calls on Taiwan for additional defense investments and a lengthening of the term of national service required of all Taiwanese men.

“However, even under constant threats, the people of Taiwan have never shied away from the challenges” and have fought to work against authoritarian forces looking to undermine their democratic way of life, Tsai said.

Tsai was speaking at the opening ceremony of the World Movement for Democracy’s Steering Committee, which is chaired by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949 and Taipei enjoys strong U.S. military and political support, despite the lack of formal military ties.

Despite having just 14 official diplomatic allies, Taiwan has drawn increasing backing from major nations, including Japan, Australia, the U.S., Canada and across Europe.

A recent visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged Beijing, which responded with military exercises seen as a rehearsal of a blockade of the island.

On Monday, Tsai met with a German parliamentary delegation focusing on human rights, who expressed concern about how Taiwan would handle threats from China.

“Taiwan is really facing military threats,” delegation head Peter Heidt said. “From Germany’s point of view, changes to the cross-strait status quo, if any, must be based on peaceful means. Also, these changes must be made after both sides have reached a consensus.”