Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen urged China’s Xi Jinping to "find a way to coexist” with the island’s democratic government, as she started her second term riding high with a record approval rating and a surge in U.S. support.
In a speech after a pared-down inauguration ceremony Wednesday in Taipei, Tsai, 63, issued one of her most forceful calls yet for an equal dialogue with Beijing. Xi’s government cut off direct communications across the Taiwan Strait during Tsai’s first four years in office, citing her refusal to accept that both sides belong to "one China.”
"Cross-strait relations have reached a historical turning point. Both sides have a duty to find a way to co-exist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences,” Tsai said. "I also hope that the leader on the other side of the strait will take on the same responsibility, and work with us to jointly stabilize the long-term development of cross-strait relations.”