REFILE: Foreign minister says 'will not make any concessions' as China drills continue, divide moods in Taiwan

Record ID: 1813776

  • Title: REFILE: Foreign minister says 'will not make any concessions' as China drills continue, divide moods in Taiwan
  • Date: 24th May 2024
  • Summary: TAIPEI, TAIWAN (MAY 24, 2024) (REUTERS) TAIWAN FOREIGN MINISTER, LIN CHIA-LUNG (RIGHT), AND HEALTH MINISTER, CHIU TAI-YUAN, ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS REPORTERS TAKING PICTURES WITH PHONES LIN AND CHIU SHOWN ON PHONE SCREEN PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS REPORTER ASKING QUESTION LIN AND CHIU LISTENING TO QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) TAIWAN F
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2024 09:33
  • Keywords: China Taiwan military reaction
  • Location: TAIPEI, KEELUNG, KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN
  • City: TAIPEI, KEELUNG, KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN
  • Country: Taiwan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Defence,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001527824052024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said the island would not succumb to pressure, while speaking to media on Friday (May 24) in the capital city of Taipei.
    "We will not make any concessions because of this Chinese military exercise, because it concerns the development of democracy in Taiwan," said Lin. "The fact that Taiwan is a democratic country will not be changed just because communist China declares that Taiwan is a part of China."
    China staged mock missile strikes and dispatched fighter jets carrying live missiles along with bombers on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV said, as part of exercises Beijing has said were launched to punish Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-te.
    China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and denounces Lai as a "separatist." It strongly criticized his inauguration speech, in which he urged Beijing to stop its threats and said the two sides of the strait were "not subordinate to each other."
    Taiwan's armed forces have mobilized to monitor and shadow Chinese forces. Taiwan's defense ministry on Friday published pictures of F-16s, armed with live missiles, patrolling the skies.
    Taiwan is well-used to China's military threats, and the latest drills have caused no undue alarm on the island, with life carrying on as normal.
    “(China's military exercises) don't really affect our daily lives. We still have to work to make money," said Chen Sian-en, a tyre repair shop owner living in the southern city of Kaohsiung. “They've talked about it so many times, but there hasn't been any real action; If they wanted to take over Taiwan, they would have done it already."
    But some others showed concerns. “As for me personally, I actually am very worried because if, hypothetically, there were some military (war) activities today, I think I would be the first one to wave the white flag," said Angeline Liao.
    Analysts, regional diplomats and senior Taiwan officials noted the scale of the drills so far were smaller than the similar exercises in 2022 and were widely anticipated by Taiwanese and foreign officials, but they still raised the risk of accidents or miscalculations.
    (Production: Fabian Hamacher, Carlos Garcia, Joyce Zhou, Sophia Soo)
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