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Taiwan volition not be sacrificed oregon traded and volition not springiness up its escaped mode of beingness nether pressure, President Lai Ching-te wrote connected Facebook connected Sunday (May 17, 2026), adding that U.S. arms income to the island were a information committedness based connected law.
Mr. Lai’s comments were his archetypal nonstop effect to the acme past week successful Beijing betwixt U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that raised concerns successful democratically governed Taiwan astir U.S. backing for the island.
Mr. Trump said helium was inactive considering whether to spell up with caller weapons income to the Chinese-claimed land and that the U.S. was “not looking to person idiosyncratic say, ‘Let’s spell autarkic due to the fact that the United States is backing us’.”
‘Very concerned’
Mr. Lai said radical were “very concerned” astir the Taiwan contented of that meeting, portion besides thanking the U.S. authorities for its continued attraction to bid and stableness crossed the Taiwan Strait and for its enactment for Taiwan.
Taiwan would not provoke oregon escalate conflict, helium added.
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“But we volition besides not springiness up our nationalist sovereignty and dignity, oregon our antiauthoritarian and escaped mode of life, nether pressure,” Mr. Lai said, adding that China was the root of determination instability.
There was nary contiguous effect from China to his comments.
China has never renounced the usage of unit to bring Taiwan nether its power and says it is simply a Chinese province, not a country.
Shared interest
Ensuring peace and stableness successful the Taiwan Strait had ever been a beardown statement and shared involvement of Taiwan, the United States, and antiauthoritarian countries astir the world, Mr. Lai wrote.
“Taiwan volition absolutely not beryllium sacrificed oregon traded.”
Long-term Taiwan-U.S. information practice and arms income were based connected the Taiwan Relations Act, helium said, referencing the 1979 instrumentality that mandates the merchantability of weapons to the island.
“This is not lone a U.S. information committedness to Taiwan, but besides the astir important deterrent unit implicit the years against actions that undermine determination bid and stability.”
While the Trump medication successful December approved an $11 cardinal arms income package, the largest ever, Reuters has reported that a 2nd 1 worthy immoderate $14 cardinal still awaits his nod.
‘Sovereign country’
Mr. Lai besides reiterated his stance that the Republic of China, Taiwan’s ceremonial name, was a “sovereign, independent, antiauthoritarian country”.
The Republic of China and the People’s Republic were not subordinate to each other, Taiwan’s aboriginal indispensable beryllium decided by its ain radical and its “sovereignty cannot beryllium violated oregon annexed”, Lai said.
“This is the top statement of each the radical of Taiwan, and it is the presumption quo that we question to defend. There is nary alleged ‘Taiwan independence’ issue.”
The defeated Republic of China authorities fled to Taiwan successful 1949 aft losing a civilian warfare to Mao Zedong’s communists, who founded the People’s Republic.
