China did not like the speech given by the new Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, during his inauguration on Monday May 20, and it is making this known. In any case, Beijing was not going to throw flowers at the man it has continued to denounce, in the past and during the campaign, for his personal opinions favorable to independence, even though he has committed to maintain the status quo. But, since Mr. Lai’s victory in the January 13 election, she has been waiting to see the tone he would give at the start of his mandate.
However, Lai Ching-te did give pledges on Monday, promising to “do not give in or provoke” and of “maintain the status quo”. He even made proposals to revive cooperation, including resuming tourist exchanges and accepting Chinese students back to Taiwan. But, for the rest, his address was a concentration of elements likely to provoke China’s ire, a more assertive, less conciliatory speech than that delivered eight years earlier by his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, concerned about bring down the temperature with China following his election.
Mr. Lai stepped in. “We must have no illusions, he said. Faced with multiple threats and infiltration attempts from China, we must demonstrate our resolve to defend the nation. » “The future of the Republic of China-Taiwan will be decided by its 23 million inhabitants”, he declared again.
This speech “can be described as a true confession of Taiwan’s independence”, underlined Tuesday the Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office. China, which considers as one of its provinces the island where Chiang Kai-shek retreated in 1949 after his defeat by the communists, poses a threat there because, since 2005, it has had a law which provides for the use of military force in the event of a declaration of independence or related gesture.
“A disgrace”
The Chinese foreign minister, since a conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries in Astana, Kazakhstan, has not minced his words. “The scandalous attitude of Lai Ching-te and others who betray the nation and its ancestors is a disgrace, Wang Yi said. History will nail all separatists for “Taiwan independence” to the pillory of shame. »
THE People’s Daily, organ of the Chinese Communist Party, devoted a full page and nine articles on Tuesday to denouncing the speech. Among the titles: “Those who question the principle of one China will ultimately be swallowed up by the course of history” Or “Taiwan independence is a dead end, and endorsing and supporting Taiwan independence is doomed to failure”. For the official Xinhua news agency, Lai’s text is nothing more than a ” manifest “ for independence. China said it had also complained to the United States after its Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, sent a congratulatory message to Lai Ching-te.
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