Lai Ching-te, President of Taiwan, on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
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The island's president, Lai Ching-te, said Saturday that it was “impossible” for the People's Republic of China to become Taiwan's motherland because Taiwan has older political roots.
Beijing condemns Lai, who took office in May, describing him as a “separatist.” He rejects Beijing's claims of sovereignty, saying the island is a country called the Republic of China, which traces its origins to the 1911 revolution that toppled the last imperial dynasty.
The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists who founded the People's Republic of China, which still claims the island as its “sacred” land.
Speaking at a concert ahead of Taiwan's National Day celebrations on October 10, Lai noted that the People's Republic of China celebrated its 75th anniversary on October 1, and in a few days it will be the 113th birthday of the Republic of China.
“Therefore, in terms of age, it is absolutely impossible for the PRC to become the 'motherland' of the people of the ROC. On the contrary, the ROC may be the motherland of the people of the PRC.” “From China over the age of 75,” Lai added to applause.
He said, “One of the most important meanings of these celebrations is that we must remember that we are a sovereign and independent country.”
China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to phone calls requesting comment outside business hours.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a speech on the eve of his country's National Day, reiterated his government's view that Taiwan is its territory.
Lai, who will deliver his special National Day keynote speech on October 10, has previously included Beijing with historical references.
Last month, Lai said that if China's claims over Taiwan were about its territorial integrity, it should also reclaim territory from Russia over which the last Chinese dynasty signed in the 19th century.
