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TAIPEI: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday that democracy had thrived on the island despite increased Chinese pressure, and vowed that its people would remain “free for generations.”
China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, and has in recent years stepped up military and political pressure against Tsai’s administration.
Taiwan sees near-daily Chinese warplanes incursions around the island, while on the international stage, Beijing has poached its diplomatic allies in a bid to isolate it.
Tsai, speaking Tuesday in a National Day speech, said it was her duty to “safeguard our national sovereignty and the democratic and free way of life” of Taiwan’s 23 million people.
“In the midst of tremendous internal and external pressures, Taiwan’s democracy has grown and thrived... and we have emerged with even greater resilience,” she said.
“To protect Taiwan’s democracy is to protect the universal value of democracy.”
“The Taiwanese people,” she added, “will be a democratic and free people for generations to come.”
In the past year, Beijing has run massive war games around the island, carrying out simulations of a blockade that have raised the worries of Tsai’s administration — as well as key allies such as the United States.
The leader — who is hated by Beijing due to her refusal to recognize China’s claim on Taiwan — is in her final year of office, unable to run for president again due to the island’s two-term limit.
Taiwan will hold national elections in January, with Tsai’s deputy Lai Ching-te the current front runner for the poll.