TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan will continue to bolster its defences to ensure that nobody can force the island to accept the path China has laid down for Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen said at her National Day speech on Sunday.
“We hope for an easing of cross-strait relations and will not act rashly, but there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will bow to pressure,” she said.
“We will continue to bolster our national defence and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us. This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people.”
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by William Mallard)
