Taiwan’s Leader Urges China to Address Differences Peacefully
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan urged China on Tuesday to seek a peaceful solution to its differences with Taiwan and stressed that the island’s people want to maintain self-rule. Speaking a day before China’s leader, Xi Jinping, was expected to make a major speech about Taiwan, Ms. Tsai said that China must respect the freedom and democracy of Taiwan’s 23 million people. Her remarks came amid a shift in the island’s political landscape, with Ms. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party having suffered major losses in local elections in November. Candidates who favor closer ties with China won mayoral contests in Taiwan’s four largest cities.
