Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, has stated that his nation predates China and is therefore not subject to Beijing's sovereignty claims.
Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, isas a separatist. He rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying the island is a country called the Republic of China that traces its origins back to the 1911 revolution overthrowing the last imperial dynasty.
The Chinese nationalist government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. Mao set up the People’s Republic ofSpeaking at a concert ahead of Taiwan’s national day celebrations on 10 October, Lai noted that the People’s Republic had celebrated its 75th anniversary on 1 October and in a few days it would be the Republic of China’s 113th birthday.
“One of the most important meanings of these celebrations is that we must remember that we are a sovereign and independent country.”China’s Taiwan affairs office did not answer calls seeking comment outside office hours, the Reuters news agency said. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in a speech on the eve of his country’s national day, reiterated his government’s view that Taiwan is its territory.
Lai, who will give his own keynote national day address on 10 October, has needled Beijing before with historical references. In September, he said that if China’s claims on Taiwan were about territorial integrity then it should also take back land from Russia signed over by the last Chinese dynasty in the 19th century.
Taiwan China Lai Ching-Te Sovereignty History
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