Taiwanese must “unite as one” against the threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said Friday, as the island marked the 66th anniversary of a deadly Chinese artillery attack.
Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has never refrained from using force to bring the island under its control.
The anniversary of the attack on the Kinmen Islands, known as the “823 bombing”, comes as China has increased military and political pressure on Taiwan in recent years.
The islands are controlled by Taiwan and are only three miles from the Chinese coast.
Lai, who took office in May, laid a wreath in honor of the bombing victims at a cemetery during his first trip to Kinmen as president.
“We must be determined to protect Taiwan” and carry on the spirit of the soldiers who faced the 823 bombing, he said at a banquet attended by veterans and their families.
China’s People’s Liberation Army fired 470,000 shells at Kinmen and nearby islands in 1958, killing 618 military and civilians in an attack that lasted 44 days.
“Currently, the threat Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu face from China is no less than in previous years,” he said, referring to three remote island chains under Taipei’s control.
“If we want to stand against the threat from China in the future, we must unite as one… We have only one goal – to defend national sovereignty and safeguard democracy”.
Lai has been labeled a “dangerous separatist” by China for his staunch defense of Taiwan’s sovereignty, and Beijing conducted large-scale military exercises around the island just days after his inauguration.
Taiwan’s military has reported near-daily sightings of Chinese warships around its waters, as well as sorties by fighter jets and drones around the island.
On Friday, the Defense Ministry said 41 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels were spotted in a 24-hour window that ended at 6:00 a.m. (2200 GMT Thursday).
aw/cool