Taiwan president to pledge defence of sovereignty, democracy
Reuters
Published Oct 09, 2021 11:04AM ET
Updated Oct 09, 2021 04:21PM ET
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will pledge to defend the island's sovereignty and democracy in a major speech on Sunday, saying it faces challenges more complex and severe than ever, at a time when tensions with China have risen.
Democratic Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has come under increasing military and political pressure from Beijing, which included this month four straight days of mass incursions by China's air force into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.
According to an outline of her national day speech on Sunday, as described to Reuters by a source briefed on its contents, Tsai will say Taiwan is at the front lines of defending democracy and faces unprecedented complicated and severe challenges.
Tsai will reiterate Taiwan's full determination to defend itself and maintain regional peace and stability, and also stress Taiwan will not "advance rashly".
But when it comes to Taiwan's sovereignty, there can be no backing down, she will say.
Speaking earlier on Saturday in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to realise https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-says-reunification-with-taiwan-must-will-be-realised-2021-10-09 "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan and did not directly mention the use of force after the week of tensions with the island that sparked international concern.
Taiwan reacted angrily to the speech, saying only Taiwan's people have the right to decide their own future, and decrying China's coercive tactics.
China refuses to speak to Tsai, re-elected by a landslide last year on a promise to stand up to Beijing, believing she is a separatist.
Tsai says Taiwan is an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name.
She has made strengthening Taiwan's defences a cornerstone of her administration to enable it to mount a more credible deterrence to China which is ramping up an ambitious modernisation programme of its own military.
Tsai spent Saturday evening at a national day reception at the Hsinchu air base in northern Taiwan, where she thanked the armed forces for their efforts to defend the island.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.