‘Peace only option,’ says Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai on cross-Strait relations

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Recounting her achievements since being first elected in 2016, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen Tuesday said “peace” was the “only option” for cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

“Let me reiterate that peace is the only option across the strait,” said Tsai, whose second term as Taiwan’s president ends next year.

The presidential election in the island nation, home to around 24 million people, is set to be held in January.

“Maintaining the status quo, as the largest common denominator for all sides, is the critical key to ensuring peace,” Tsai, 67, said, addressing Taiwan’s National Day celebrations.

“Neither side can unilaterally change the status quo. Differences across the strait must be resolved peacefully,” she said, according to a transcript of her speech.

The island nation, which sits across the Taiwan Strait, has been run independently since 1949 while China considers it as its “breakaway province” and has insisted on reunifying it with the mainland.

Tsai, however, said: “Taiwan at this moment has become a Taiwan of the world.”

“In geostrategy, the development of global democracy, and international supply chain systems, we are the most reliable, effective, and safest partner to the world. The strength of international support for us has reached an unprecedented height,” she said, as the US and its allies have increased interactions with Taipei to the chagrin of Beijing.

“Since this is a time we can now face the world with confidence and resolve, we can also be calm and self-assured in facing China, creating conditions for peaceful coexistence and future developments across the Taiwan Strait,” said the outgoing president.

The international community, said Tsai, “has come to realize that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an indispensable component of global security and prosperity.”