For 24 hours from Saturday to Sunday early morning, Beijing sent in 45 warplane incursions -- 27 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait -- and nine vessels, according to Taiwan's defence ministry.
The drills came after Lai made two stopovers in the United States -- in New York en route to Paraguay and in San Francisco when returning to Taipei -- that enraged Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.
Lai said in an interview with a Taiwanese TV station done while he was in the United States that Taiwan cannot accept the "One China" principle.
"If we accept the 'One China' principle, we might get some short-term ease but when one day China changes its face, we don't have our sovereignty and the international community can't help us," Lai said in the interview that aired late Saturday.
"It would become a civil war and the international community could not help us, just like it's very hard for the international community to help Hong Kong and Macau," he said.
"Sovereignty matters the most."
He added that the election -- which will be held next January -- is "not a choice between peace and war".
"We can't order off a menu, choosing peace and then there's peace, choosing war and then there's war. That's not the case," he said.
"Instead we have the right to choose whether we want democracy or autocracy. This is the real choice we have to make in this election."
Lai is part of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party -- generally regarded as a more pro-Washington compared to the Kuomintang party.
He has been far more outspoken about independence than current President Tsai Ing-wen, who is also hated by Beijing because she refuses to accept the view that Taiwan is a part of China.
Like Tsai, Lai reiterated this position in the interview.
"My position is that Taiwan is not a part of the People's Republic of China," he said. "We are willing to link up with the international community and talk to (China) under the guarantee of security."
Beijing launched massive military exercises last year after Nancy Pelosi, then-speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan, and again in April when Tsai transited through the United States.
In response to Saturday's drills, the US State Department in Washington urged Beijing "to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan".
Paraguay's new foreign minister vows to keep Taiwan ties
Asuncion (AFP) Aug 20, 2023 -
Paraguay's new government will maintain ties with Taiwan, even at the cost of its relationship with China, Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez told AFP.
Paraguay is the only South American country that recognizes Taiwan diplomatically, and one of just 13 around the world.
China considers self-ruled democratic Taiwan as a part of its territory, to be retaken one day.
Under its 'One China' policy, it does not allow countries to recognize both Beijing and Taipei.
"We have no problem relating to mainland China as long as it is without conditions," Ramirez said Friday, three days after Paraguay President Santiago Pena was inaugurated.
"And China establishes conditions, such as breaking diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and Paraguay does not accept that," added Ramirez, an economist who previously served as foreign minister from 2006 to 2008.
"The relationship with Taiwan is not only based on tradition, but on institutional democratic values," he said.
Taiwan's vice-president William Lai, the frontrunner in the island's presidential election next year and a vocal opponent of Beijing's claims to the island, was present at Pena's inauguration ceremony last Tuesday.
Lai made two stopovers in the United States -- in New York en route to Paraguay and in San Francisco when returning to Taipei -- that enraged Beijing.
Latin America has been a key diplomatic battleground for China and Taiwan since the two split in 1949 after a civil war.
In March, Honduras became the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of Beijing.
- Israel and Venezuela embassies -
Ramirez also said he would move to normalize Paraguay's relations with Israel and Venezuela.
Paraguay is preparing to reopen embassies in Jerusalem and Caracas, he said.
Paraguay moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018.
But after then President Mario Abdo took office a few months later, the embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv, angering Israel which reacted by closing its embassy in Asuncion.
Paraguay broke off relations with Venezuela in January 2019, in rejection of the swearing-in as president of Nicolas Maduro.
At the time, most Latin American countries, as well as the United States and the European Union, did not recognize the validity of the elections in which Maduro had been reelected.
Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
