Beijing "will never tolerate" the separation of Taiwan from China: Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Chinese government's Office for Taiwan Affairs, said in response to Tsai Ing-wen's inaugural speech of his second presidential term in Taiwan / p>
Taiwan will not accept China's offer of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong style reiterated Tsai Ing-wen in his inaugural speech "the words peace, parity, democracy and dialogue. We will not accept Beijing's use of 'one country, two systems' to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the status quo. We remain firm in compliance with this principle ". Taipei and Beijing must find ways to coexist and prevent antagonism that aims to strengthen ties with the US, Japan and "other related countries". In his speech after taking the oath of office for his second and final term, Tsai said that relations between Taiwan and China have reached a historic turning point. "Both sides - he observed - have a duty to find a way to coexist in the long term and prevent antagonism and differences from intensifying".
Tsai and his Progressive Democratic Party won the presidential and parliamentary elections in January with wide margins, having the opposition to China as their platform, ready to take control of the rebel island also by force, if necessary. Beijing, repeated several times by President Xi Jinping, has proposed the "one country, two systems" model, in order to guarantee a high degree of autonomy as for Hong Kong.
The protests and anti-government and pro-democracy clashes that began in June 2019 in the former colony have strengthened in Taipei the belief that the Chinese plan is unacceptable. China stepped up military maneuvers around Taiwan after Tsai's re-election, with fighter planes and warships.
The president quoted Taiwan as the official name of "Republic of China", other than the People's Republic of China, noting the efforts made to maintain peace and stability in the strait that separates the island from China. The Trump administration has strongly supported Taiwan, even if the United States recognizes only the Chinese government, becoming another source of tension between Washington and Beijing also for the sale of arms and for a new law in defense of the island approved by Congress American.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent congratulations to Tsai yesterday, praising his "courage and vision in driving Taiwan's vibrant democracy" in a rare high-level message from Washington to the Taiwanese government, also summarized on Twitter. This morning was also added a tweet by Joe Biden, the former US vice president and Democratic challenger of Donald Trump in the presidential election in November: "Taiwan's thriving democracy and the response to Covid-19 are an example for the world".
