Lai Ching-te, president of Taiwan, on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
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Taiwan President Lai Ching-te again expressed goodwill and offered cooperation to China on Sunday after two days of Chinese military exercises near the island, and said he looked forward to increasing Strengthen mutual understanding and reconciliation.
China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its territory, conducted military exercises on Thursday and Friday, calling them “punishment” after its inaugural speech Lai’s appointment on Monday in what Beijing called another bid for the island’s formal independence.
China has repeatedly criticized Lai as a “separatist”. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only the people of Taiwan can decide their future. He repeatedly proposed negotiations but was refused.
Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the southern city of Tainan, Lai called on China to “share the heavy responsibility of regional stability with Taiwan”, according to comments. from his party.
Lai, who won the election in January, said he also “looks forward to strengthening mutual understanding and reconciliation with China through exchanges and cooperation, creating common interests and guiding to a position of peace and common prosperity”.
He thanked the United States and other countries for expressing concern about China’s military exercises.
Mr. Lai added: “The international community will not accept any country that creates waves in the Taiwan Strait and affects regional stability.”
Taiwan’s government has condemned China’s war games.
Over the past four years, China has organized regular military operations around Taiwan seeking to put pressure on the island’s government.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said forces stationed on Erdan Island, part of the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen archipelago, located next to the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou, had discovered a “raw” cardboard box containing paper with political slogans on it, written in simplified Chinese characters used in China.
The box was suspected to have been dropped out of sight by a drone, the ministry said, adding: “This is a typical cognitive operations trick.”
In 2022, Taiwan shot down a drone off the coast of Kinmen after days of complaints about harassment.
China’s Ministry of National Defense does not respond to calls outside of business hours.
The Chinese military has continuously released a series of propaganda videos and animations targeting Taiwan since the exercises began.
The Eastern Theater Command, which runs the exercise, showed a video on Sunday of missiles firing what it called in English “cross-Strait lethality.”
