Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen says island’s future must be decided by its people | Politics News
Self-ruled Taiwan, which is claimed by Beijing, will go to the polls latest this month to choose a new president. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has stressed that the self-ruled island’s future and its relations with Beijing must be decided by its people after China’s leader Xi Jinping said “reunification” was inevitable. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal. It has been stepping up political and military pressure on the island since Tsai was first elected in 2016 and has ramped up its campaign in the weeks ahead of the next presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13. In a bullish New Year’s Eve address, Xi struck a stronger tone than usual over the island, promising the nation that China would “surely be reunified”. Asked about Xi’s speech at a New Year’s press conference at the presidential office in Taipei, Tsai stressed that the island was a democracy and it was its people who decided their future. “This is taking the joint will of Taiwan’s …