Taiwan president: China is too ‘overwhelmed’ to consider invasion. In an interview with the New York Times, President Tsai Ing-wen stated that the leadership of China is “overwhelmed” by the difficulties occurring within the country and so cannot even entertain the possibility of invading Taiwan.
China, which considers Taiwan to be its territory and perceives it as democratically controlled, has increased the amount of military pressure it exerted against the island over the previous four years, which has led to fears of a confrontation that may have wide-ranging consequences.
Tsai, however, stated that China was now dealing with an excessive number of problems in a transcript of her office’s interview for the New York Times DealBook Summit published on Thursday.
At this point, I believe that the Chinese leadership cannot cope with the issues occurring within the country. To add insult to injury, she stated, “I think that perhaps this is not the appropriate time for them to contemplate a major invasion of Taiwan.”
“Largely because of the internal economic and financial as well as political challenges, but also because the international community has made it loud and clear that war is not an option and peace and stability serve everybody’s interests.”
When the Chinese Defense Ministry was asked about Tsai’s remarks, the government responded, “China will eventually and surely be reunified.”
“The People’s Liberation Army will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Wu Qian, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense, at a monthly press briefing in Beijing.
Tsai and her administration have requested discussions with China, but Beijing has consistently rejected these requests. Beijing considers Tsai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), now in power, separatists.
According to Tsai, the people of Taiwan are the only ones who can decide their destiny.
The campaigning for the presidential and legislative elections that are scheduled to take place on January 13 is currently in full swing in Taiwan. Polls indicate that Lai Ching-te, presently serving as vice president of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is the leading candidate to become Taiwan’s next president.
As Tsai put it, it was “no secret” that China was attempting to influence the elections that were taking place in Taiwan.
However, I believe that they are not likely to be especially effective in their efforts to exert influence over the election that is taking place here. She went on to say that the primary reason for this is that Taiwan is a democratic nation, and the people are aware that they have successfully made their choices on who will succeed them as the leader of Taiwan.
On Wednesday, the Taiwan Affairs Office of China increased the intensity of its assaults against Lai and his running partner, Hsiao Bi-Khim, who had previously served as Taiwan’s ambassador to the United States.
Taiwan will inevitably go to war. Chen Binhua, a spokeswoman for the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), stated at a press conference, “The DPP’s promotion of this dangerous independence double act will only poison the interests and well-being of compatriots on the island.”
Chiu Tai-san, a prominent China policymaker, responded to reporters in Taipei on Thursday by dismissing Beijing’s criticism of China’s policy.
“To tell you the truth, those comments demonstrate that they have no idea what democratic politics and elections are,” said Chiu, the head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.
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