After reporters asked him about Washington's position on Taiwan, where the Democratic Progressive Party's pro-independence candidate, Lai Ching-ti, won the presidency, US President Joe Biden said, leaving the White House, “We do not support independence.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, for his part, congratulated Lai Ching-te on his victory, and praised the “solidity of the democratic system and the electoral process” in Taiwan.
Blinken said in a statement that Washington is “committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Strait and to the peaceful resolution of differences free of coercion and pressure.”
He stressed that he looks forward to working in the future with Lai Ching Tee “to promote the interests and common values of the two countries, and to continue the informal relationship between them, in a manner consistent” with the official position of the United States.
He added, “The partnership between the American and Taiwanese peoples, rooted in democratic values, continues to expand and deepen through economic, cultural and people-to-people relations.”
The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a state, but provides it with significant military aid.
Chinese position
China stressed that “reunification with Taiwan is inevitable”, after Lai Ching-te was elected president of the island on Saturday.
The spokesman for the Chinese office responsible for relations with Taiwan, Chen Binhua, said that the vote “will not impede the inevitable trend of reunification with China,” according to what was reported by the New China News Agency (Xinhua).
Chen considered that the voting results show that Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party “cannot represent the majority of public opinion on the island.”
Chen stressed that the vote “will not change the basic landscape and direction of development of cross-Strait relations,” noting that “Beijing's position on achieving national reunification remains firm, and our determination is rock-solid.”
The spokesman concluded by emphasizing that Beijing “strongly opposes separatist activities aimed at Taiwan independence, as well as foreign interference.”
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