Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim on Friday said Taipei does not want a conflict with China and will not provoke confrontation, but warned that Beijing’s “aggressive” military posturing is counterproductive.
Chinese pressure on Taiwan had escalated over the past few years, but the island’s people were peace-loving, Hsiao said while talking to the media at the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Taipei.
“We do not seek conflict; we will not provoke confrontation,” she said, reiterating President Lai Ching-te’s offer of talks between Taipei and Beijing.
The dispute between the two nations involves China’s claim over democratic Taiwan as part of its own territory.
Beijing also called President Lai Ching-te a “separatist”.
The Taiwanese president has repeatedly offered talks with China, but has been rebuffed. Since 2022, Beijing has staged at least six rounds of major war games around Taiwan.
Hsiao further said for decades Taiwan’s people and business have contributed to China’s growth and prosperity, which has been possible only in a peaceful and stable environment.
“Aggressive military posturing is counterproductive and deprives the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait of opportunities to pursue an agenda of growth and prosperity,” the vice president said. “Defending the status quo (with China) is our choice, not because it is easy, but because it is responsible and consistent with the interests of our entire region.”
In 2023, China imposed sanctions on Hsiao for the second time, but they have little practical effect as senior Taiwanese officials do not travel to China and Chinese law has no jurisdiction over the entirely separately governed island.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian in Beijing said whatever Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party said or did, both sides of the strait belonged to “one China”.
On the Taiwan-United States tariff talks, Hsiao said: “With the United States, our negotiators are literally working around the clock to strive to reach an agreement on reciprocal tariffs to achieve trade balance while also promoting further bilateral cooperation in technology, investments and other areas.”
Taiwan , a major semiconductor producer, is facing challenges following US President Donald Trump’s April announcement that the island would be subject to a 32 per cent tariff, which was subsequently suspended to facilitate talks.
