Taiwan has seen off mainland China before and its resolve to defend remains, Tsai Ing-wen says

Taiwanese president tells delegation from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution island stands on the front line of authoritarian expansionism
‘We too will show the world that the people of Taiwan have both the resolve and confidence to safeguard peace, security, freedom and prosperity’, Tsai says

Taiwan

Reuters

Published: 2:52pm, 23 Aug 2022

Why you can trust SCMP

Taiwan saw off mainland China’s military six decades ago when its forces bombarded offshore Taiwanese islands and that resolve to defend the homeland continues to this day, President Tsai Ing-wen told a visiting group of US academics on Tuesday.

Tensions between Taiwan and Beijing have spiked over the past month following the visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The People’s Liberation Army staged war games near Taiwan to express anger at what it saw as stepped-up US support for the island that Beijing views as sovereign Chinese territory.

02:24

US-Taiwan trade talks prompt Beijing warning, ‘economic coercion’ on agenda

Meeting the delegation from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution at her office, Tsai referenced mainland China’s month of attacks on the Taiwan-controlled islands of Quemoy (also called Kinmen) and Matsu that sit off just off the mainland coast, which started in August 1958.

“Sixty-four years ago during the August 23 battle, our soldiers and civilians operated in solidarity and safeguarded Taiwan, so that we have the democratic Taiwan today,” she said, using the common Taiwanese term for that campaign, which ended in stalemate with mainland China failing to take the islands.

“That battle to protect our homeland showed the world that no threat of any kind could shake the Taiwanese people’s resolve to defend their nation, not in the past, not now and not in the future,” Tsai added.

“We too will show the world that the people of Taiwan have both the resolve and confidence to safeguard peace, security, freedom and prosperity for ourselves.”

Tsai Ing-wen tells new US delegation chip supply chain vital to security

In 1958, Taiwan fought back with support from the United States, which sent military equipment, such as advanced Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles, giving Taiwan a technological edge.

Often called the second Taiwan Strait crisis, it was the last time Taiwanese forces were in a battle with mainland China on a large scale.

The US, which ditched formal diplomatic relations with Taipei in favour of Beijing in 1979, remains Taiwan’s most important source of arms.

02:54

Another US delegation meets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, soon after Pelosi visit

“As Taiwan stands on the front line of authoritarian expansionism we continue to bolster our defence autonomy, and we will also continue to work with the United States on this front,” Tsai said.

Beijing’s drills near Taiwan posed a threat to the status quo in the strait and across the region, and democratic partners should work together to “defend against interference by authoritarian states”, she added.