Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday that the island must safeguard its sovereignty and know its own culture and history, rejecting a previously erroneous notion that the island could be used as a base to “reclaim” China.
Lai, who took office in May, and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) advocate Taiwan’s independence from China, a position that often angers Beijing, which considers Taiwan an inalienable part of Chinese territory.
Speaking at the DPP’s annual conference, Lai said those who fought to bring democracy to Taiwan – martial law was finally lifted in 1987 – had a clear understanding of Taiwan’s place in the world.
“They did not hesitate to shed blood to dispel the false notion that Taiwan is a base for recapturing the Chinese mainland, sacrificed their lives and established the national policy of Taiwan First,” said Lai, who is also chairman of the DPP.
Chiang Kai-shek and the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communist Party.
Chiang Kai-shek hoped to regroup his forces in Taiwan and attack China to destroy Mao’s People’s Republic of China, but he died in 1975 without achieving this dream.
Lai said Taiwan has different priorities.
“Now our responsibility is to unite the people, oppose annexation (by China) and ensure national sovereignty,” he said in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien, rather than Mandarin, the main government language.
“We must do everything we can to help people across the country understand Taiwan’s history and culture, and to establish a national identity in which the 23 million people who live in Taiwan share a common destiny,” he added.
The China Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to calls seeking comment outside working hours on Sunday. China has called Lai a “separatist.”
Lai, who rejects China’s claims to sovereignty, saying only the Taiwanese people should decide Taiwan’s future, has made repeated requests to meet with Beijing but has been rebuffed.
China conducted military drills immediately after Lai took office and continues to send military aircraft and warships to areas around Taiwan on a daily basis.
Taiwan begins its annual Han Kuang military exercises on Monday, which this year aim to be as close as possible to actual combat.
Lai said the Democratic Progressive Party will always uphold a democratic and liberal constitutional system.
“We will never allow Taiwan to be pushed into the brink of extinction due to the failure of democratic politics,” he added.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
