Channel News Asia
Date: 25 Jan 2018
BEIJING: China is willing to show utmost goodwill towards self-ruled Taiwan but won’t
A woman rides a bike past Taiwan and China national flags during a rally held in Taipei, Taiwan May 14, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
allow its separation from China, the country’s defence ministry said on Thursday (Jan 25) after Taiwan’s president said she does not rule out the possibility of a Chinese attack.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said this week she does not exclude the possibility of China attacking them, amid heightened tensions between the two sides including an increasing number of Chinese military drills near Taiwan.
Beijing has taken an increasingly hostile stance towards Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province, since the election two years ago of Tsai of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
China suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing, though she has said she wants to maintain the status quo and is committed to ensuring peace. [FULL STORY]
