Taiwan’s President, Lai Ching-te, contacted China on Sunday, offering cooperation and goodwill despite recent Chinese military exercises near the island.
Lai emphasised the need for mutual understanding and reconciliation between the two sides.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, conducted war games on Thursday and Friday. Beijing labelled these drills as “punishment” following Lai’s inauguration speech on Monday, which it interpreted as promoting Taiwan’s formal independence.
China has frequently accused Lai of being a “separatist.” Lai denies Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over Taiwan and insists that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future. He has consistently offered dialogue, but China has rebuffed these overtures.
At a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) meeting in Tainan, Lai called China to “share the heavy responsibility of regional stability with Taiwan.”
He also hoped to ” enhance mutual understanding and reconciliation with China via exchanges and cooperation, creating mutual benefit and moving towards a position of peace and common prosperity.”
Furthermore, Lai thanked the United States and other countries for their concern over the Chinese military exercises, saying that “the international community will not accept any country creating waves in the Taiwan Strait and affecting regional stability.”
Taiwan’s government has condemned China’s war games. Over the past four years, China has conducted regular military activities around Taiwan to pressure its government.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported that a garrison on Erdan islet — part of the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands near China’s Xiamen and Quanzhou cities — discovered a cardboard box containing papers with political slogans in simplified Chinese characters.
The defence ministry suspected the box was dropped by a drone and described it as a “cognitive operation trick.”
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