Taiwan will not bow down to China, says president | Al Jazeera

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen says her government will not bow down to pressure from China and will continue to bolster the island’s defences in order to protect its democratic way of life.

Tsai’s strong riposte on Sunday comes a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping promised once again to realise “peaceful reunification” with the self-ruled territory.
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Claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan has come under growing military and political pressure to accept Beijing’s rule.

This includes repeated Chinese air force incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. During the first week of October alone, Beijing sent some 149 military planes near the island, forcing Taiwan to scramble its fighter jets and sparking international concern.

Addressing a rally held to mark Taiwan’s National Day in central Taipei, Tsai said that she hoped for an easing of tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

She said her government will not “act rashly”, but said “there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will bow to pressure”.

Taiwan will “continue to bolster our national defence and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us,” she said in the speech outside the presidential office.

“This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people.”