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Taiwan's President Tells Vatican War with China 'Not an Option'

by VOA News

   President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan has told Pope Francis that peaceful
   relations with China will only occur when Beijing respects the island's
   sovereignty.

   In a letter to the pontiff released by her office on Monday, President
   Tsai said Russia's nearly one-year old invasion of Ukraine has
   underscored the need to seek peace and preserve regional security.

   She told the pope that armed conflict with China "is absolutely not an
   option," a point she made in her annual National Day speech last
   October. Tsai also said that "peace and stability" across the Taiwan
   Strait are the basis for developing bilateral relations with Beijing.

   "Only by respecting the commitment of the Taiwanese people to our
   sovereignty, democracy and freedom can there be a foundation for
   resuming constructive interaction" Tsai said in the letter, sent in
   response to the pope's annual World Day of Peace message on New Year's
   Day.

   Beijing considers the democratically-ruled island part of its
   territory, even though it has been self-governing since the end of
   China's civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces
   were driven off the mainland by Mao Zedong's Communists. China has
   vowed to bring the island under its control by any means necessary,
   including a military takeover.

   China has stepped up diplomatic pressure on countries to get them to
   cut ties with Taiwan.

   The Vatican is one of only 14 states -- and the only one in Europe --
   that have maintained formal ties with Taipei, although Pope Francis has
   moved to improve relations with Beijing.

   Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and
   Reuters.