Taiwanese president Lai Ching Te says he hopes to have healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing

Summary

Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated in his New Year’s speech that Taiwan’s “reunification” with China is inevitable.

China has escalated military activity around Taiwan, including frequent incursions near the island and sanctions on U.S.-linked companies over arms sales to Taipei.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te rejected Beijing’s claims, stating Taiwan’s future can only be decided by its people.

Lai also criticized China’s restrictions on travel and education exchanges with Taiwan, calling for dignified, reciprocal relations based on goodwill and equality.

  • etuomaala@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    83·
    3 days ago

    K, I don’t use all caps a lot, but I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR.

    I will not be a slave to history. My defense of Taiwan is entirely based on the here and now.

    K I need to qualify that statement somewhat. History is useful for explaining why the world is the way it is today, and serves as a guide into the future, but it is useless as some kind of long term score sheet.

    • john89@lemmy.caEnglish
      15·
      3 days ago

      Well, if that’s how you want to see it then the idea of “rightful owner” doesn’t matter much.

      It’s really just who you like more at that point.

      • etuomaala@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        51·
        3 days ago

        It’s not that the rightful owner doesn’t matter. It’s that it is hard to quantify on this scale, and it is especially hard to quantify using history.

        And yeah, it is in fact more about who I like more. I like the Taiwanese government because the Taiwanese people are in control of it, and I believe in every human’s right to choose their own government. I hate the Chinese government for exactly the same reason, along with the fact that they’re a bunch of land grabbing imperialist bastards.

        • john89@lemmy.caEnglish
          14·
          3 days ago

          I’m glad you can admit your bias and that your idea of who China belongs to is based on personal preference.

          • etuomaala@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            11·
            2 days ago

            I’m glad you can admit that you consider human rights as a form of personal preference.

            But my, uh, “preference” for human rights isn’t actually the highest principle at play here. The highest principle here is that of internationally-agreed-upon borders. A country may not violate these borders. Period. For example, even though I like Taiwan’s government more, I do not believe they deserve one square metre of mainland China.