Peace through strength, Taiwan president says on China battle anniversary

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te addressed tensions with Beijing while marking a 1958 battle with Chinese forces.

KINMEN, Taiwan — Peace can be secured only through strength, and not even an inch of territory can be sacrificed, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said ⁠Sunday, visiting a sensitive front-line island to mark a key battle with Chinese forces almost seven decades ago.

Taiwan has controlled the Kinmen and Matsu islands, which lie just off the Chinese coast, since the Republic of China government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. No peace ⁠treaty or armistice has ever been signed.

In heavy rain, ​Lai ⁠laid a wreath and bowed at a memorial park for the 68th anniversary of the 1958 clash with Chinese forces, known as the start of the second Taiwan ⁠Strait crisis — the last time Taiwanese and Chinese forces battled on a large scale.

Addressing veterans later, ​Lai ⁠expressed gratitude to those who “stood united and ‌fought a bloody battle to repel Communist totalitarian aggression.”

“Our resolve to unite in defending national sovereignty and safeguarding peace across the Taiwan Strait must never waver,” Lai said. “Peace has never simply fallen ‌from the sky.”