Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tells Beijing it ‘must’ respect island’s sovereignty, people’s choices

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen used her New Year’s Day speech to give Beijing a lesson in handling cross-strait relations, while promising to protect the self-ruled island’s sovereignty and its people’s livelihoods.

The message came just a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping is set give a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of a key policy statement, known as the “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan”, that eventually led to a thaw in relations with Taiwan.

Tsai said on Tuesday that Taipei would not give any ground on sovereignty despite her ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffering a landslide defeat in the local government elections in November, when the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) won control of 15 of 22 cities and counties – including the former DPP stronghold of Kaohsiung.

Some observers said at the time that the poll result reflected public support for the KMT’s more Beijing-friendly policies.

“I admit that the … local elections were the most serious critique of the ruling authority, but I must stress that the results did not suggest the general public was choosing to give up our sovereignty, nor did they reflect a desire among the Taiwanese people to make concessions on this issue,” she said.

Beijing must appreciate that the “Republic of China, Taiwan” had existed for a long time and it must respect the choice of Taiwan’s 23 million people to live in freedom and a democratic system, Tsai said.

It must also seek to resolve cross-strait differences through peaceful discussions and must hold government-to-government talks with Taipei through their authorised agencies, she said.