Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Sunday offered to provide “needed help” to China to help it cope with a surge in COVID-19 cases, but said Chinese military activities near the island they will not foster peace and stability in the region.
In a sudden policy shift, China last month began to abandon its policy of extensive shutdowns and tests, described as the toughest in the world, to contain the pandemic. This change means that Covid-19 is spreading out of control and international health experts have said the virus could infect millions of people every day.
In her traditional New Year’s message delivered to the presidential office, Tsai said that everyone has witnessed the significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in China. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure to confirm it.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen
“As long as there is a need and in view of the humanitarian assistance situation, we are ready to provide the necessary assistance to help more people overcome the pandemic and enjoy a safe and healthy New Year,” the Taiwanese president said, without elaborating.
Taiwan and China have repeatedly clashed over each other’s measures to control the spread of COVID-19.
China has criticized Taiwan for its ineffective handling of the pandemic after the number of domestic infections soared last year, while Taiwan has accused China of lack of transparency and trying to interfere with vaccine supplies to Taiwan , which Beijing has denied.
The Taiwanese leader reiterated her call for dialogue with China and said that war is not an option to solve the problems.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made a brief reference to Taiwan in his New Year’s speech, saying that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are “members of the same family”, and made no mention of trying to bring the island under Chinese control.
Shortly after Tsai’s speech, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that in the past 24 hours, 12 Chinese military aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait demarcation line, which previously served as an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides.
Tsai has repeatedly stressed his willingness to hold talks with China and achieve peace, but clarified that Taiwan will defend itself if attacked and that only its 23 million inhabitants can decide their own future.
