Taiwan’s president vows to reject ‘implantation’

President William Lai has pledged to raise the level of Taiwan’s autonomy in his high-profile public address since taking office earlier this year.

Speaking about China’s claim to the island, Lai said he would “support the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment into our territory.”

Lai was speaking to a crowd in Taipei to mark Taiwan’s National Day, just nine days after Communist China celebrated its 75th anniversary.

At the same time, Lai pledged to maintain “a state of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and promised to cooperate with Beijing on issues such as climate change, combating infectious diseases and maintaining regional security.

“The Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other,” he said, referring to the government in Taipei and Beijing respectively.

“In this world, democracy and freedom flourish. The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he added.

Lai earlier told guests there would be “no surprises” in his National Day speech, in an attempt to reassure them he would do nothing more to trouble Beijing.

The disclaimer followed several speeches by President Lai in the past few months that some considered provocative.

“The speech was softer and less sarcastic than his recent speeches,” Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Taiwan University, told the BBC of Thursday’s speech. “It gives China very little ammunition to use against itself.”

“However,” he added, “Beijing will still find many reasons to hate this speech.”

Mr Nachman said he expected a strong response from Beijing in the form of more military exercises in the next few days.

Last week, Lai said it was “absolutely impossible” for China to become Taiwan’s “motherland” because the island’s government was established in 1911, decades before the establishment of the Communist regime in mainland China in 1949.

“On the contrary, the Republic of China may be the country of citizens of the People’s Republic of China who are over 75 years old,” Lai said at a concert to celebrate Taiwan’s National Day on Saturday.

Taiwan maintains the constitution of the Republic of China, which was established in mainland China. When it lost a long civil war with the Communists in 1949, the government of the Republic of China fled to Taiwan and has been based there ever since.

Last month, Lai also questioned China’s assertion that its claim to the island is based on territorial integrity. If that were the case, he suggested that Beijing would also aim to return some of the so-called historical countries that had been under the control of China.

“If China wants to take over Taiwan… it’s not because of territorial integrity,” Lai said, in an interview to mark his first 100 days in office.

“If it’s really because of territorial integrity, why doesn’t China return it to Russia?”

Lai referred to the 1858 Treaty of Aigun, which saw China cede greater Manchuria to Russia. The deal took place during what China calls the “century of subjugation,” when Western powers and Japan exploited the weak Qing Dynasty.

On Wednesday, the Chinese government responded that President Lai was fomenting tensions with “bad intentions”.

“Lai Ching-te’s delusion of Taiwan’s independence is just old wine in a new bottle, and it once again reveals his stubbornness about Taiwan’s independence and his evil intentions to increase hostility and confrontation,” said a statement from the Taiwan Press Office.

After his election in January, Lai succeeded Taiwan’s former president Tsai Ing-wen, who was also from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Lai’s public comments so far are considered by many political observers to go further than anything said by his predecessor, who was more cautious in his public speeches.

Despite his administration’s more adversarial tone, however, Lai emphasized his position to maintain the “status quo” between Taiwan and China.

He insists that Taiwan does not need to declare independence because it is already an independent nation that has never been controlled by the People’s Republic of China.

Lai also devoted much of Thursday’s speech to domestic issues such as energy, climate change and housing.