China claims Taiwan as its territory, to be brought under Beijing’s control by force if necessary. Taiwan says it is an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.
Tsai, who’s seeking re-election in a January 11 vote, also vowed in a New Year’s speech to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, saying her government would build a mechanism to safeguard freedom and democracy as Beijing ramps up pressure on the island...
(AFP)
-
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen rejected China’s offer to use the “one country, two systems” model in order to unify the self-ruled island with mainland China, claiming that that political arrangement has failed in Hong Kong...
ReplyDelete“Hong Kong people have showed us that ‘one country, two systems’ is definitely not feasible,” Tsai said in a New Year speech on Wednesday, presstv reported.
“Under ‘one country, two systems,’ the situation continues to deteriorate in Hong Kong. The credibility of ‘one country, two systems’ has been sullied by the government’s abuse of power,” she claimed.
Hong Kong has been governed under the “one-country, two-system” model since the city, a former British colony, was returned to China in 1997.
Since June, Hong Kong has been beset by unrest over a contentious extradition bill that would have allowed the extradition of suspects to mainland courts for trial. The bill has since been fully withdrawn, but the protests have continued, although they have lost much of their steam.
Tsai further vowed to defend what she called Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Her speech came ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on January 11, in which she seeks a second term.
On Tuesday, Taiwan passed a bill to combat what it claims as Chinese efforts to influence politics in the island, further straining ties between Beijing and Taipei.
China says Taiwan’s ruling party has been using such law revisions to incite hostility and restrict normal exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
China is Taiwan’s favorite investment destination, with Taiwanese firms having invested over 100 billion dollars there in total, according to private estimates.
Beijing’s relations with Taipei have particularly been strained since Tsai came to power in 2016. She has strong anti-China inclinations and refuses to acknowledge that both sides are part of “one China.”
FNA