Taiwan’s president tells military academy cadets that the main challenge they face is the strong rise of Beijing. China views the “annexation” and “elimination” of Taiwan as its great national cause, Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te said, telling cadets at the military’s premier academy they must know their enemy and not give in to defeatism.
Lai has faced sustained personal attacks from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory. Since assuming office last month, Beijing has branded him as a “separatist”. China also deployed aircraft in Taiwan’s airspace and staged a major military drill around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration.
In a speech on Sunday, Lai said only Taiwan’s people can decide their future and has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but has been rebuffed.
Speaking in Kaohsiung in the south of the island on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Whampoa Military Academy, Lai said today’s cadets must recognise the challenges of the “new era”.
“The biggest challenge is to face the powerful rise of China, [which is] destroying the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and regards Taiwan’s annexation and the elimination of the Republic of China as the great rejuvenating cause of its people,” he said, using Taiwan’s formal name.
“The highest mission is to bravely take up the heavy responsibility and grand task of protecting Taiwan, and safeguarding the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not answer calls on Sunday seeking comments about Lai’s remarks.
