Taipei, Oct 5 (IANS): Taiwan will never agree to trade its independence for China’s embrace, as it is a reality rooted in democracy, identity, and hard-won freedom, with Tibet’s experience showcasing what happens when nations trust Beijing’s promises – autonomy becomes occupation, culture becomes propaganda, and freedom becomes repression, according to a media report.
Taiwan is an independent country in practice, and the question is not whether Taiwan wants independence but why it will never accept China’s rule, according to the report in The Tibet Express.
Taiwan is democratic, holds free elections, has a vibrant civil society and a robust press, which is different from authoritarian China, it said. Taiwan stands as the epicentre of technology and trade, particularly semiconductors, making it important for global supply chains.
Tibet is an example of what happens when China promises autonomy. Under the 1951 Agreement, China vowed to respect the political system and religion, but promises were broken within years as monasteries were destroyed, language marginalised, and religious practice tightly restricted in Tibet, according to The Tibet Express report.
Taiwan will not accept China’s rule as its democracy is not compatible with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authoritarianism and Tibet’s experience shows that Beijing cannot be trusted to honour autonomy agreements.
“Taiwan’s independence is not a bargaining position—it is a reality rooted in democracy, identity, and hard‑won freedom. Tibet’s experience shows what happens when nations trust Beijing’s promises: autonomy becomes occupation, culture becomes propaganda, and freedom becomes repression. Taiwan has learned that lesson well. It will never willingly trade its independence for Beijing’s embrace, because to do so would mean the end of everything that makes Taiwan free,” Khedroob Thondup, nephew of the 14th Dalai Lama, mentioned in the report.
China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Despite China’s efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China’s incursions.
In recent years, China has increased the frequency and scale of its military exercises around Taiwan.
Earlier on Monday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that nine Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and nine official ships were detected operating around Taiwan until 6 a.m. (local time). It said that Taiwan’s Armed Forces monitored the situation and responded.
“8 PLAN vessels and 9 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded. No flight path illustration is provided, as we did not detect #PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan during this timeframe,” it posted on X.
