In her New Year’s address, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the Taiwanese were “ready to provide the necessary assistance (to Beijing) on the basis of humanitarian concerns”, “when there is a need”.
Taiwan’s president extended an olive branch to Beijing in her New Year wishes today, offering China help to deal with the covid-19 outbreak.
Taiwan, home to 24 million people, lives under the constant threat of an invasion from China, as Beijing considers the island part of Chinese territory and wants to reunite it with the rest of the country, even by force.
In her New Year’s address, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the Taiwanese were “ready to provide the necessary assistance (to Beijing) on the basis of humanitarian concerns”, “when there is a need”.
Tsai added that she hoped Taiwan’s assistance could “further help people overcome the pandemic and spend a new year safe and sound.”
China is facing an explosion of new coronavirus cases after suddenly abandoning its draconian “zero covid” policy in early December, three years after the first infections were detected in Wuhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping assured yesterday Saturday that “the light of hope is before us”. But in another speech on Friday, he said that Beijing “resolutely faced the attempts of separatists who aimed to achieve ‘Taiwan independence’ and the intervention of foreign powers in this direction”.
Relations between Taiwan and China worsened in 2022, with Beijing increasing military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the autonomous island.
In her New Year’s speech, Tsai assessed that “war has never been an option to solve problems. Only dialogue, cooperation and the common goal of promoting stability and development in the region can allow more people to feel safe and happy,” he underlined.
Taiwan and China’s joint mission for 2023 will be “to restore healthy and sustainable post-pandemic exchanges between the peoples on both sides” of the Taiwan Straits, the president noted.
“We also have a common mission to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the region,” he concluded.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
