Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated on Wednesday that China has no right to determine whether Taiwan is a country, given that Taiwan chooses its own government. He also expressed his willingness to shake hands with his Chinese counterpart in friendship.
China considers democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military and political pressure to assert these claims, including intensifying war games. China maintains that the island is one of its provinces and has no right to be called a state.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and his government firmly reject this view and have repeatedly offered talks with China, which have been rejected. China labels Lai a “separatist.”
When asked by Reuters what he would say to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi if they were to meet, Lin said he would definitely shake hands with him.
Read more: China Urges UK, EU on Trade
“What the nature is of cross-Taiwan Strait relations can be discussed, but we are all human. First, extend the hand of friendship. If he shook my hand, that would be a good start,” he said at a press briefing marking the first anniversary of Lai taking office. “If he takes his hand back, that’s his problem.”
Taiwan’s formal name is the Republic of China, the name of the government that fled to the island in 1949 after losing the civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, who established the People’s Republic of China.
“Whether or not Taiwan is a country is not up to Wang Yi, nor the People’s Republic of China, to say. The whole world sees us as a country. We choose our governments democratically. It is our business what our name is.”
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The chances of Lin and Wang meeting are slim, as neither government recognizes the other, officials do not visit each other, and Taiwan is excluded from most international bodies due to China’s objections.
Lai reiterated an offer to talk to China on Tuesday, stating that he sought peace but that the island must also strengthen its defenses.
China responded by calling his comments a “two-faced tactic” that were a “waste of effort and doomed to fail.”
Taiwan’s government has warned that Beijing could mark the anniversary with more military drills.
