The president of Taiwan offered today in her New Year’s speech “all the necessary assistance” to China, which is dealing with its biggest wave of covid infections, according to the island agency CNA.

“Based on humanitarian concerns, we would like to offer all necessary assistance if necessary,” Tsai said, without specifying whether Beijing has asked for help.

Like countries such as Spain, the United States, Italy, India, South Korea, Malaysia or Japan, Taiwan recently announced that it will carry out a PCR test on all passengers from China who arrive on the island, a guideline that will be maintained at least until late January.

On the other hand, the president asserted in her speech that “war is never an option to resolve differences” and called for “dialogue and cooperation with the aim of promoting stable regional development” in order to enjoy “security and well-being.”

Last year, tension in the Taiwan Strait reached levels not seen in decades after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in August, which Beijing called a “deplorable treason” and responded to by with military exercises around the island.

During his year-end speech on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his hope that “compatriots on both sides of the strait will join hands to create the future well-being of the Chinese nation,” referring to Taiwan. and to the reunification that China demands.

However, Tsai said Thursday that while she noted that Xi used a “softer tone” when talking about Taiwan, the “military activities of the Chinese army near the island are detrimental to the peace and stability of the region.” .

This week, the Taiwanese president announced that the mandatory military service for men, which is currently four months, will be extended to one year from 2024, due to “the advance of Chinese authoritarianism.”

Taiwan has been considered a sovereign territory with its own government and political system under the name of the Republic of China since the end of the civil war between nationalists and communists in 1949, but Beijing maintains that it is a rebel province and insists that it return to what called common homeland.

The island is also one of the biggest sources of conflict between China and the United States, mainly because Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally in the event of a possible war with China.

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