Lai Ching-te: The term "independence" of Taiwan means it does not belong to Beijing

The term "Taiwan independence" means that the island does not belong to or is subordinate to Beijing and that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future, its President Lai Ching-te said today.

He said in Taipei that his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) adopted a resolution in 1999 that Taiwan was already a sovereign and independent country called the Republic of China (not the People's Republic of China), Reuters reports.

The government maintains that Taiwan's sovereignty cannot be violated or annexed and that its future must be decided by its people, Lai said.

China considers Taiwan its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control, especially if it assesses that the island seeks formal independence.

Lai's comments come days after United States (US) President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, sparking concerns in Taiwan over US support for the island.

"Everyone can clearly understand that the meaning of the term Taiwan independence actually means that Taiwan is not part of the People's Republic of China," Lai said at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the DPP.

He added that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.

Lai said that only with Taiwan can the Republic of China exist, whose territory also includes the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait and the Kinmen and Matsu islands located off the Chinese coast.

"So it's very clear: The Republic of China has been in Taiwan for 70 or 80 years and has already integrated with Taiwan into one," he added.

Lai concluded that "whether we call it the Republic of China, the Republic of China, Taiwan or Taiwan — basically, no matter what we are called internationally, it refers to us: the 23 million people of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu."

The defeated government of the Republic of China fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, who founded the People's Republic of China.