TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday he welcomes equal, dignified, healthy and orderly exchanges with China but wants to know whether Beijing has good intentions because of what he said is Beijing’s interest in simple things like tourism A blockade was carried out.
Lai Chi, who took office in May, has frequently offered to hold talks with China but has been rebuffed. China regards democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and detests Lai as a “separatist”. He said that only the people of Taiwan can decide their own future.
Lai said at a New Year’s Day press conference that China is preventing normal interactions by restricting Chinese tourists or students from studying on the island, and that similar bans do not apply to Taiwanese traveling to China.
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“But I still want to emphasize one point: Taiwan hopes to have healthy and orderly exchanges with China based on the principles of reciprocity and dignity,” he said.
Lai added that journalists should ask China why its citizens can travel freely to countries like the United States and Japan but are subject to all these controls in Taiwan.
“Is this really a sign of goodwill towards Taiwan? Can’t they treat everyone equally?”
Taiwan and China have repeatedly blamed each other over tourism and travel restrictions. In June, Taiwan told its citizens not to travel to China unless absolutely necessary, after Beijing threatened to execute those deemed “die-hard” independence supporters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s address on Tuesday that no one can stop the “reunification” of China and Taiwan.
The Chinese military operates around Taiwan every day and held two rounds of military exercises near Taiwan last year.
The greater the threat from authoritarian states, the more democracies should unite, Lai said, noting that Chinese and Russian militaries operate jointly in the Indo-Pacific.
He said cooperation between democracies was needed in defense and security and in strengthening “democratic supply chains”.
“If it’s not done well, it will affect the economies and industries of all countries, as well as the lives of people in democracies,” Lai said.
“I sincerely hope that in the new year, democracies can be more united and achieve the goals of peace, democracy and prosperity.”
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kim Coghill and Neil Furrick)
