Taipei Times
Date: Jun 26, 2018
By: Staff writer, with CNA, OKINAWA, Japan
China’s worst enemy is that it does not genuinely embrace democracy and freedom,
Former president Lee Teng-hui speaks at a dinner gathering with Taiwanese expatriates on Sunday in Okinawa, Japan. Photo: CNA
and Taiwan, which does, will not be its enemy, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said on Sunday in Japan.
Lee made the remarks at a dinner gathering with Taiwanese expatriates in Okinawa, in which he said that Taiwan would someday present itself on world stage with its own name.
In the 21st century, China has become an assertive player on the economic, political, military and technological fronts, but it is seen as a hegemony, not a civilized country upholding the ideas of democracy and freedom, Lee said.
China has become the “most destabilizing factor” in Asia and has caused disturbances that threaten the security of countries in the region, he said.
Its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative — a scheme focused on investing large sums of money in infrastructure development in targeted countries — will turn many of the countries into “economic colonies of China,” he said. [FULL STORY]
