TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese people will never accept Chinese annexation, Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) said in a CBS interview published Sunday.

Chen said Taiwanese people want peace and stability. “Since democratization, we have enjoyed the freedom of speech, of democracy, a diversified society,” Chen said. “We've been through an authoritarian past. We see democracy is something we achieved,” he said, so Taiwanese people will never agree to China’s proposed “one country, two systems” framework, per CBS.

The deputy minister cited the 2019 protests in Hong Kong as a reason for Taiwan’s distrust of China. “Those people who want to speak up got brutally repressed. The (Chinese) Communist Party is not going to allow freedom of speech, human rights, and societal diversity,” he said.

Chen added that Taiwanese people “have not lived one single day under Chinese Communist Party rule,” according to CBS. “How come we are part of them?”

Regarding Taiwan-US relations, the deputy minister said he is not worried about being abandoned by the US, calling the country a “dependable ally,” per CBS. He added, “The US can count on us as much as we can count on the US.”

Chen’s comments come ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday. National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said last week that the main purpose of the summit will be to manage tensions rather than resolve disputes. He added that “The CCP may attempt some maneuvering during the talks,” especially when discussing Taiwan.

Tsai said the US has repeatedly stressed through both public and private channels that its Taiwan policy has not changed.