Beijing Accuses Lai Ching-te of 'Selling Independence Fallacies'
Beijing has hit out at President Lai Ching-te for comments he made during his National Day speech, accusing him of "selling independence fallacies." Taipei responded by saying that China should understand Lai's "goodwill," with Washington weighing in by asking Beijing to exercise restraint.
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00:00Yet more rhetoric as Beijing responds to President Lai Ching-de's National Day speech, particularly
00:07regarding comments he made about Taiwan and China not being subordinate to one another.
00:13China's foreign ministry saying that Lai is deliberately severing the historical connection
00:19between the two sides, accusing him of selling a fallacy of Taiwanese independence and of
00:25having sinister intentions of increasing cross-strait tensions for political gain.
00:31Taiwan did respond by saying that China should understand the goodwill expressed by the president
00:36in his speech and to face the reality of cross-strait relations.
00:40Washington also weighing in, saying they don't want to speculate on China's reactions, but
00:46saying that there's no justification for a military response to what's essentially just
00:51an annual celebration, urging Beijing to act with restraint.
00:57Lai's speech was a lot more conciliatory than many were expecting, some even calling it
01:01moderate.
01:03It was an olive branch of sorts to China that Beijing's refusing to take.
01:08There hasn't been much of a military response from China as yet, though some are anticipating
01:13bigger drills around Taiwan over the weekend, though if, when and how those happen is anybody's
01:19best guess.
01:20Beijing could respond more indirectly by, for example, imposing more tariffs or restrictions
01:26on Taiwanese imports to China.
01:29But for now at least, Lai's less confrontational tone in his speech hasn't prompted any drastic
01:35responses from Beijing.