Taiwanese president responds to Xi’s call for peaceful reunification: Island will not ‘bow to pressure’

Taiwan will not “bow to pressure” from China for reunification, President Tsai Ing-wen said in a speech Sunday before a parade and military ceremony marking Taiwan’s National Day.

The island will continue to develop and invest in its defensive capabilities, Tsai said, “to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us” — a path she said “offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people.”