China has condemned the US for allowing her to visit, though her trip there is technically only a transit. Read more at straitstimes.com.
CHIAYI - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited army engineers on Saturday and reviewed their training, saying that defending democracy is the armed forces’ “great” mission, ahead of a trip next week to the United States and Central America.
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up its military and political pressure over the past three years or so to try and force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty, viewing Ms Tsai as a separatist.and Central America starting on Wednesday. China has condemned the US for allowing her to go, though her visit there is technically only a transit.
“Protecting Taiwan and defending democracy has always been our military’s great mission,” she told the soldiers, accompanied by Taiwan’s Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo. “I believe that only by continuously training and strengthening the military’s war preparedness can we be even more able to protect our home and defend Taiwan,” Ms Tsai added.
Ms Tsai has repeatedly offered talks with China, but says Taiwan will defend itself if attacked and that only the island’s people can decide their future. REUTERS
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