By John Ikani
Taiwan will keep reinforcing its defence so that no Taiwanese will be forced to bow down to the path that China has laid down which doesn’t have any freedom and democracy, President Tsai Ing-Wen said on the Taiwanese National Day, in a strong counter to Beijing.
Tsai’s strong riposte on Sunday comes a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping promised again to realise “peaceful reunification” with the self-ruled territory.
Under Xi, Beijing has stepped up military and political pressure on Taiwan to accept its rule.
This includes repeated Chinese air force missions in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. Over the first week of October alone, Beijing sent some 149 military planes near the island, forcing Taiwan to scramble its fighter jets and sparking international concern.
While addressing the rally on the occasion of Taiwanese national day, President Tsai said that Taiwan will not act rashly. She further says that however “there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will bow to pressure.”
“We will continue to bolster our national defence and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us,” Tsai was quoted by Reuters in its report.
“This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people,” she further adds.
