TAIPEI: Taiwan and China need to talk to each other to achieve peace given the “multifold changes” in the international situation, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Monday (Feb 3), calling for dialogue instead of confrontation.
Lai, who China detests as a “separatist”, has repeatedly called for talks with Beijing, which has stepped up its military and political pressure against the democratically-governed island it sees as sovereign Chinese territory.
But both China and Taiwan face pressure from the new administration of US President Donald Trump, who has imposed tariffs on China and threatened similar measures against imported semiconductors, a sector Taiwan dominates.
Speaking in Taipei to members of the Taiwanese business community who have invested in China, Lai said Taiwan and China’s common enemies were natural disasters and their common goal was the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
“Therefore, we should, especially at a time of multifold changes in the international situation, have a good dialogue and exchanges between the two sides of the strait in order to achieve the goal of peace,” he said.
Taiwan very much welcomes talks with China on the basis of equality without preconditions and dialogue should replace confrontation, but Taiwan’s future can only be decided by its people, Lai added.
