Taiwan Cannot Rule out China Holding More Drills as President Marks a Year in Office
Taiwan cannot rule out that China will hold more military drills to “stir up trouble” around the one year anniversary next week of President Lai Ching-te taking office, a senior government spokesperson said on Thursday.
May 20 will be one year since Lai’s inauguration, though his office has yet to announce how the president might mark the day, Reuters reported.
China calls Lai a “separatist” and has rebuffed his multiple offers for talks. Lai rejects China’s sovereignty claims over the democratic and separately governed island, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
Speaking at a regular press conference, Mainland Affairs Council deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh said China’s threats against Taiwan had become a “normal state of affairs”, noting China held drills shortly after Lai assumed his post last year.
“Therefore, we do not rule out the possibility that the Chinese communists will use the anniversary of President Lai’s inauguration to stir up trouble again and make use of military exercises for political propaganda,” he said.
The council is Taiwan’s top China policymaking body.
