TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Wednesday (Jan. 18) said that Taiwan is "already a sovereign and independent country" and therefore there is no need to declare independence.
During a press conference at a swearing-in ceremony as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai was asked by the media to elaborate on his identification as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence." Lai responded by saying, "I reiterate that it is a pragmatic determination that Taiwan is already an independent and sovereign nation, there is no need to further declare Taiwan independence."
Lai said that "The Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not affiliated with each other." He added then that the "future of Taiwan, the Republic of China, can only be determined by 23 million people."
The vice president concluded by saying that in the future he will continue to stand firm on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) four commitments on handling cross-strait matters.
When asked how he plans to resolve differences between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, Lai said the international community generally believes the deadlock between the two sides is due to China's political and military threats and changes in the status quo. To break the deadlock, "I'm afraid that Taiwan will not be able to succeed alone," said Lai.
Lai said he hopes China will "act with the common people in mind," and that the two countries have a common goal, which is to "improve the well-being of the people." He added that the common enemies of Taiwan and China are natural disasters and infectious diseases and "if the CCP can change its mind and focus on the common people, I believe many problems can be easily resolved."
