From left: Taiwan's first lady Wu Mei-ru, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, Speaker of the Legislature Han Guo-yu and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim cheer during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Oct 10, 2024. (Photo: AP/Chiang Ying-ying)

China says Taiwan's leader 'hell bent' on independence

· CNA · Join

BEIJING: China on Thursday (Oct 10) condemned Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te for being "hell bent" on independence, after he vowed to "resist annexation" in a speech marking the self-ruled island's National Day.

Lai's speech "exposed his hell-bent position on Taiwan independence and his sinister intention to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait for political self-interest", China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing.

China has not ruled out using force to bring the democratic island under its control, which Lai and his government oppose.

"Taiwan has never been a country and can never become one, so it does not have any so-called 'sovereignty'," Mao said.

She added that Lai's comments "arbitrarily severed the historical connection between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait" and used "all manner of tactics to peddle the fantasy of Taiwan independence".

In his speech, Lai pledged to defend the island's "national sovereignty".

But he also said Taipei's efforts to preserve the "status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait remain unchanged".

Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan to accept its territorial claims and relations have remained tense under Lai, who took office in May.

And a senior US administration official said that China may use the National Day celebrations "as a pretext" for military exercises.

China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of large-scale war games in the past two years, deploying aircraft and ships to encircle the island.

Beijing insisted following Lai's speech that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory" and that unification between the island and the mainland was "inevitable".

Source: AFP/nh

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here

Related:

Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of islandTAIPEI: Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vowed on Thursday (Oct 10) to "resist annexation", as China exerts growing military and political pressure on the self-ruled island it claims10 Oct 2024Most Taiwanese believe China unlikely to invade in coming five years, poll showsTAIPEI: Most Taiwanese believe China is unlikely to invade in the coming five years but do see Beijing as a serious threat to the democratic island, a poll by Taiwan's top military think tank showed on Wednesday (Oct 9). Over the past five years or so, China's military has significantly ramped up its activ09 Oct 2024China likely to launch military drills around Taiwan after president's national speech, sources sayTAIPEI: China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's upcoming National Day speech as a pretext to pressure the island to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials say.07 Oct 2024