TAIPEI: Taiwan will not back down to threats, the island’s vice president William Lai said on a US trip that China has denounced, while reiterating a willingness to talk to Beijing, Reuters reported on Sunday. He added that if Taiwan is safe then the entire globe is safe.
Taiwan Vice President Says It Will not Back Down to Threats
He is in the US on what is formally a transit stop on his way to Paraguay.
The US and Taiwan say the stopovers on the way back, are usual, but Beijing has condemned them and called Vice President Lai a separatist “troublemaker.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday termed the Taiwan’s vice President as a separatist troublemaker.
William Lai is expected to be president in the elections to be held early next year and his brief transit in New York on his way to the inauguration of Paraguay’s President has made Chinese authorities to come out strong.
China has since long claimed Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly denounced Taiwanese official visit to United States which also included a stopover in San Francisco on Wednesday on his way back to the capital Taipei.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that it opposed any form of visit made by Taiwan separatists and it came after the landing of William Lai in New York.
China said that Taiwan is central of China’s core interest and the rise in tension in strait of Taiwan is because of the fact that Taiwan is relying on US for seeking its independence.
The Foreign Ministry said that China is closely watching the developments in and would take measures to defend its sovereignty and national integrity.
