By Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan must protect its sovereignty and know its own culture and history, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday, rejecting what he said was the previous mistaken belief the island could serve as a base to “retake” China.
Lai, who took office in May, and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a position that frequently angers Beijing which views the island as an inviolable part of Chinese territory.
Speaking to the DPP’s annual convention, Lai said those who fought to bring democracy to Taiwan – martial law only ended in 1987 – had a clear understanding of the island’s place in the world.
They “did not hesitate to shed blood and used their lives to debunk the mistaken idea that ‘Taiwan is a base to retake the mainland’, and instituted the national policy of putting Taiwan first,” said Lai, who is also DPP chairman.
Chiang Kai-shek and his defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists.
Chiang hoped to regroup his forces on Taiwan and attack China to destroy Mao’s People’s Republic of China. Chiang died in 1975 without achieving that dream.
Lai said Taiwan had different priorities.
“Now, our responsibility to unite the people, oppose annexation (by China) and ensure national sovereignty,” he said, speaking in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien, rather than the main language of government, Mandarin.
“We must do our best to let the whole country’s people understand Taiwan’s own history and culture, and establish a national identity that the 23 million people living in Taiwan are a community of destiny,” he added.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours on Sunday. China calls Lai a “separatist”.
Lai rejects China’s sovereignty claims saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but been rebuffed.
China staged war games shortly after Lai’s inauguration, and has continued to send warplanes and warships around Taiwan on a daily basis.
Taiwan starts is annual Han Kuang war games on Monday, which this year aim to be as close as possible to actual combat.
Lai said the DPP will always adhere to a democratic and free constitutional system.
“We will never allow Taiwan to suffer the danger of extinction due to the failure of democratic politics,” he added.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
