President Lai Says China Cannot Be Taiwan's 'Motherland'

TaiwanPlus News

President Lai Ching-te's comments that China cannot be Taiwan's motherland are proving controversial, with opposition lawmakers calling his words needlessly provocative.

Transcript

00:00President Lai Ching-de hasn't been in the job for six months yet, but he's definitely

00:05not shying away from challenging China's view of Taiwan, particularly the notion that it's

00:11been part of China since ancient times.

00:14His latest comments to spark controversy came during a speech at a concert marking Taiwan's

00:21National Day.

00:22He said that the Republic of China, or ROC, Taiwan's official name, is older than Communist

00:29China.

00:53Such comments have been criticized by opposition lawmakers, who say they're provocative to

00:58China, which sees Taiwan as its territory and could one day invade.

01:05But lawmakers from Lai's ruling party have defended him, saying he's simply using basic

01:11facts and logic to prove that the Republic of China, Taiwan, is separate from Beijing.

01:18Ryan Wu and Louise Watt for Taiwan Plus.

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