Taiwan President says democracy is Taiwan's strength, rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Sunday said the island must remain united to protect its democracy and ensure it never becomes part of China, as he accused Beijing of stepping up pressure through legal, military and political means.

According to a Reuters report, addressing the annual convention of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai urged party members to stand together against what he described as China's "red terror".

He said Taiwan must stay vigilant even during peaceful times as Beijing continues to increase pressure on the self-ruled island.

Lai's remarks come amid strained cross-strait relations, with China continuing to claim Taiwan as part of its territory despite the island's self-governing status. Beijing has repeatedly rejected Lai's calls for dialogue and has labelled him a "separatist" because of his stance on Taiwan's sovereignty.

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Lai warns of China's 'red terror'

Speaking in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien, rather than the government's primary language of Mandarin, Lai said party members should remain on the front lines in defending Taiwan's democratic values.

"I also expect comrades within the party to stand on the front lines, unite as one, and jointly oppose the threat posed by China's 'red terror' to Taiwanese society," he said, according to Reuters.

Lai stressed that Taiwan's democratic system and freedoms must be protected at all costs.

"We must work together to protect our democratic and free way of life, and absolutely never allow 'democratic Taiwan' to turn back and become 'China's Taiwan'," he said, Reuters reported.

Concern over China's legal moves

The Taiwanese President also expressed concern over what he called China's "legal warfare", pointing to Beijing's recently introduced ethnic unity law. Taiwanese officials fear the legislation could provide China with another legal basis to target people outside its borders, including Taiwanese citizens accused of supporting independence.

China has dismissed such criticism and maintains that Taiwan is an inseparable part of its territory. Beijing's legal system, however, has no jurisdiction over Taiwan.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to Lai's latest remarks.

Taiwan's future belongs to its people

According to the report, Lai reiterated that Taiwan is already an independent country under its official constitutional name, the Republic of China, and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China.

He said everyone who identifies with Taiwan, regardless of their background, has an equal stake in the island's future, adding that its future should be decided solely by its 23 million people.

The Chinese civil war ended in 1949 when the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan after losing to Mao Zedong's communist forces, which established the People's Republic of China on the mainland. Since then, neither side has formally recognised the other, and no peace treaty has ever been signed.

Lai said Taiwan had faced growing military threats, diplomatic pressure and disinformation campaigns during the DPP's years in power but had continued to stand firm.

"Taiwan has shown the world that democracy is not a weakness; democracy is strength," he said.

(with inputs from agencies.)