Published on: 01.01.2023 – 11:58
As diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Beijing have deteriorated significantly over the course of 2022, the democratic island’s president has reached out to the Chinese government. She assured that as Covid-19 cases surged in mainland China, the Taiwanese were “ready to provide necessary assistance based on humanitarian concerns.”
The Taiwanese President handed an olive branch to Beijing in her New Year’s greetings on Sunday, January 1, offering her help amid the resurgence of Covid-19 infections in mainland China.
In a peaceful speech, President Tsai Ing-wen said the Taiwanese are “ready to provide necessary assistance to Beijing based on humanitarian concerns” “as long as there is need.” The President added that she hopes Taiwanese aid can “help more people get out of the pandemic and have a safe New Year.”
A statement in contrast to China’s menacing tone. Indeed, Taiwan’s 24 million people live under the constant threat of invasion from China, which sees the democratic island as part of its territory to one day be reclaimed, by force if necessary.
>> See also: Reporter – Taiwan holding its breath at Chinese threat
China is facing an explosion of Covid-19 cases after abruptly abandoning its strict “zero Covid” policy last month, three years after the coronavirus emerged in the city of Wuhan.
In his televised New Year’s address on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that “the light of hope is before us” as epidemic prevention and control “enters a new phase.” But Xi Jinping also said in another speech on Friday that Beijing has “resolutely opposed the separatists’ attempts to achieve ‘Taiwan independence’ and the intervention of external forces in that perspective.”
A “shared duty to preserve peace and stability”
Taiwan-China relations deteriorated in 2022 as Beijing increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the self-governing island. In August, Beijing held massive military drills near the island to protest the visit to Taipei of American Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House.
>> Also read: China-Taiwan: “The military threat is much more credible than 20 years ago”
In her traditional New Year’s address on Sunday, Tsai Ing-wen said China’s military activities around Taiwan are “not helpful” in maintaining ties between the two sides.
“War has never been an option to solve problems. Only dialogue, cooperation and the common goal of promoting regional stability and development can make more people feel safe and happy,” she said.
A joint mission for Taiwan and China in 2023 is to “restore healthy and sustainable post-pandemic exchanges between people on both sides” of the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese president added. “We also have a shared duty to uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the region,” she said.
With AFP