President-elect of Taiwan reiterates offer of “unconditional” dialogue with Beijing – News – SAPO.pt

“I sincerely hope that China has the confidence to cooperate with the legitimate and democratically elected government that the people of Taiwan have trusted. This is the right path for cross-Strait exchanges,” said Lai, leader of the Democratic Party Progressive Party (DPP), at a press conference.

If the Beijing authorities are only willing to follow the “conditions” set by the opposition, referring to the island’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), these exchanges “will fail to gain the trust and support” of Taiwanese society , said Lai.

“If things continue as they are, it will not necessarily be beneficial to China and will not have a positive impact on the peaceful development of both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said Lai, who introduced his team for foreign policy, national security and defense.

Since the DPP formed a government on the island in 2016, relations between China and Taiwan have cooled: official dialogue between Taipei and Beijing has been suspended for eight years, military tensions in the Strait have increased and Chinese authorities have toughened their speech in favor of “national reunification”.

Beijing insists that any dialogue with the Taiwanese Government must take place on the basis that both sides of the Strait belong to “one China”, a thesis defended by the KMT leadership, but rejected outright by the DPP, whose leaders argue that this Dialogue must be conducted under conditions of “equality”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping assured former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou (KMT) on April 10 that “there are no forces that can separate Taiwan from China” and that the “differences” in their political systems “cannot change the fact that the two sides are one country”.

“As long as there is no separation, as long as both sides recognize that they are Chinese, compatriots on both sides of the Strait can sit together, initiate contacts and hold exchanges as members of one family,” Xi said.

The elected President of Taiwan – considered an “independentist” in the eyes of Beijing – and the remaining members of the Government will take office on May 20th.

JPI // MSF

Lusa/End