Latest news with #TaiwanIndependence
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
China's military vows to boost combat readiness after Taiwan president speeches
BEIJING, June 26 (Reuters) - The People's Liberation Army "shows zero tolerance to Taiwan independence separatist activities", a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said on Thursday when asked about recent speeches made by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te. The PLA will enhance combat readiness to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a regular press conference. "The Lai authorities keep pushing Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war; they are the cause of harming the livelihood of the Taiwanese people," Zhang said, adding that Lai's comments showed his "ill intentions". Lai on Sunday began a series of 10 speeches on "uniting the country", saying that democratically-ruled Taiwan was "of course a country" and that China had no legal or historical right to claim it. Beijing and Taipei have clashed over their competing interpretations of history in an escalating war of words over what Beijing views as provocations from Taiwan's government, saying it was impossible to "invade" what was already Chinese land. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control and has a particular dislike for Lai, describing him as a "separatist". Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says it is up to the island's people to decide their future. Tensions between China and Taiwan, including several rounds of Chinese war games, have grown over the last five years and now include daily air and naval deployments near the island. The last Chinese war games in April and October were widely seen by regional military attaches as a test of a possible blockade of Taiwan. The U.S. and its regional allies are watching closely, with some officials saying that China's deployments and its military modernisation have raised the possibility Beijing may one day make good on its threats to take Taiwan by force.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
China's military vows to enhance combat readiness after Taiwan president speeches
The People's Liberation Army 'shows zero tolerance to Taiwan independence separatist Activities,' a Chinese defense ministry spokesperson said on Thursday when asked about recent speeches made by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te. The PLA will enhance combat readiness to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a regular press conference.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Beijing accuses Taiwan's William Lai of inciting cross-strait confrontation in speech
Beijing has lashed out at Taiwan's leader for calling the island a country during a speech that the mainland said contained 'fabricated fallacies'. In a commentary on Tuesday, People's Daily, a mouthpiece of mainland China's ruling Communist Party, said William Lai Ching-te 's speech to a Taiwanese branch of Rotary International on Sunday was 'full of various factual errors and historical fallacies' and was highly provocative and harmful. 'It was a 'Taiwan independence' declaration that blatantly incited cross-strait confrontation, and a hodgepodge of 'Taiwan independence' fallacies and heresies full of errors and omissions,' it said. 'It once again showed Lai Ching-te's ignorance and madness, and once again exposed his stubborn 'Taiwan independence' nature and ugly face, confirming that he is a troublemaker, danger-maker and war-maker. 'No matter how much a fallacy is polished, it is still a fallacy; no matter how much a lie is beautified, it is still a lie.' 05:05 Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan, troubled US-China trade ties in call breaking stand-off Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan, troubled US-China trade ties in call breaking stand-off During his speech on Sunday – the first of 10 in a series called 'Uniting the country' – Lai said Taiwan was 'of course' a country.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
China Slams Taiwan's Lai for Speech Mentioning Independence
China harshly condemned Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te for a speech aimed at rallying the democracy's 23 million people to stand up to its larger neighbor — a back-and-forth that illustrates a deepening cross-strait divide. Lai was 'wantonly spreading separatist remarks about 'Taiwan independence,'' the People's Daily said in a commentary on Tuesday, adding the address 'was a provocation that was strong and harmful.' The article also called Lai a litany of names such as 'warmaker,' while also saying his remarks displayed 'madness.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
China says Taiwan president spreading 'heresy' with sovereignty speech
BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Monday accused Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of "heresy", hostility and provocation, after a speech in which he said the island is "of course" a country and there is historical evidence and legal proof to back this up. Beijing says democratically-governed Taiwan is "sacred" Chinese territory that has belonged to China since ancient times, and that the island is one of its provinces with no right to be called a state. Lai and his government strongly reject that view, and have offered talks with China multiple times but have been rejected. China calls Lai a separatist. China's Taiwan Affairs Office, responding to Lai's Sunday evening speech, said he had intentionally distorted history to promote his Taiwan independence agenda and that the island has never been a country. "It was a 'Taiwan independence' declaration that blatantly incited cross-strait confrontation, and a hodgepodge of 'Taiwan independence' fallacies and heresies full of errors and omissions," it said in a statement. "The fallacies fabricated by Lai Ching-te in contravention of history, reality and jurisprudence will only be swept into the rubbish heap of history." Lai has repeatedly said that only Taiwan's people can decide their future, and that, as the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island, it has no right to claim it or speak on its behalf. In 1949, the Republic of China government fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name. Taiwan has over the past five years faced stepped-up military and political pressure from China, including war games.
