We won’t let there be war with China, Taiwan VP frontrunner says

Taipei’s former top diplomat in the United States and now frontrunner to become Taiwan’s next vice president stated on Friday that the governing party of Taiwan will not allow a conflict to break out with China but that China is responsible for stirring up tensions. “China is to blame for stirring up tensions,” the former diplomat said.

There will be presidential and legislative elections on January 13, defining the relationship between Beijing and Taiwan, which China claims. These elections are taking place at a time when China is increasing its military activity near Taiwan to establish its sovereignty claims.

China has criticized the incumbent vice president Lai Ching-te, the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate who is currently leading in the polls, for framing the election as a choice between war and peace. China has portrayed the election as a choice between war and peace, which Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has echoed.

Lai’s running partner, Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s high-profile former de facto ambassador to the United States, stated that her opponents have constantly accused the DPP of causing tensions in the Taiwan Strait during a live broadcast pre-election policy talk. The three vice presidential candidates delivered the address.

“However, the entire world is aware that the valid reason is that China has been pushing outward in an authoritarian posture for several years to alter the current international order and status quo. Hsiao commented that the buildup of China’s weaponry continued unabated even when the KMT was in power.

We are working to enhance our defenses to prevent conflict. The status quo of peace in the Taiwan Strait is something that Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim advocate for, and I want to make it clear to my fellow citizens that we will not allow war to break out in the Taiwan Strait.

Jaw Shaw-kong, a fiery media personality and the vice presidential candidate for the Kuomintang (KMT), stated that his party was “absolutely not pro-China” as he was standing next to Jai.

Jaw, whose party has always supported strong ties with China, stated that the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) does not grasp mainland China and does not possess any understanding whatsoever of the Communist Party.

“The DPP are using the China threat as a chip to get them elected, to dupe the electorate.”

Jaw stated that Taiwan and China need to engage in discussion. He criticized the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) for failing to do so and pledged that the Kuomintang (KMT) would restart talks while also maintaining Taiwan’s defenses.

On several occasions, President Tsai Ing-wen and her cabinet, including Lai and Hsiao, have made numerous attempts to engage in dialogue with China while they were campaigning, but they have been unsuccessful.

The Chinese government has referred to the election as an “internal Chinese affair” and has referred to Lai and Hsiao as dangerous separatists.

According to the DPP and the KMT, Taiwan’s people are the only ones who can decide their destiny.

In her speech, Cynthia Wu, the vice presidential candidate for the Taiwan People’s Party, now in a distant second place in the polls, made very few references to China. Instead, she focused on internal problems, such as the necessity of establishing a sovereign wealth fund.