‘Return’ to China not an option for Taiwan’s people, premier says responding to Xi

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By Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said on Tuesday that a “return” to China is not an option for the island’s 23 million people, after Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his country’s sovereignty claims in a call with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Xi told Trump on Monday that Taiwan’s “return to China” at the end of World War Two was a key part of Beijing’s vision for the world order. Taiwan’s democratically elected government strongly rejects China’s stance.

“We must once again emphasise that the Republic of China, Taiwan, is a fully sovereign and independent country,” Cho told reporters outside parliament, referring to the island’s formal name.

“For the 23 million people of our nation, ‘return’ is not an option – this is very clear,” he added.

In Taiwan’s system, the premier is in charge of day-to-day government operations while defence and foreign relations are generally the president’s purview.

TAIWAN REJECTS CHINA’S AUTONOMY MODEL

China has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model, which enjoys no support from any mainstream Taiwanese political party and has been rejected by President Lai Ching-te.

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have plunged after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan.

China says Taiwan is its most important and sensitive diplomatic issue.

Trump touted progress in trade talks and said relations with China were “extremely strong” in a post on Truth Social following his call with Xi, without mentioning any discussions on Taiwan.

Taipei has repeatedly denounced Beijing for trying to distort the legacy of World War Two, which ended 80 years ago, especially as Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China government at the end of the conflict.

The People’s Republic of China did not come into existence until 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communist forces defeated the Republic of China forces, which then fled to Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei said in Taipei that China has distorted the facts around World War Two, and pointed to U.S. comments in September about how Beijing has tried to use documents from that era to pressure and isolate Taiwan.

“China has repeatedly attempted to intimidate and pressure neighbouring countries such as Taiwan and Japan in the region with its authoritarian expansionist nature,” he said.

CHINESE MILITARY PRESSURE

Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has stepped up its military pressure against the island.

On Tuesday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had spotted a single balloon coming from China flying over the sensitive Taiwan Strait the day before.

Taiwan has complained that these balloon flights, which typically occur in the winter months, are part of a pattern of Chinese harassment activities.

Beijing’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has previously dismissed Taiwan’s complaints about the balloons, saying they were for meteorological purposes and should not be hyped up for political reasons.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Saad Sayeed)