Taiwan’s president says future will not be decided by ‘external forces’

Key points

• President Lai says Taiwan’s future is up to its people as the island faces Chinese and US headwinds.
• Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said the future of Taiwan should not be decided by “foreign forces” but is instead in the hands of its 23 million citizens.
• Speaking on the second anniversary of his inauguration on Wednesday, Lai said his goal as president continued to be maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait – the 180km (112-mile) waterway dividing Taiwan from China – and to prevent “external forces” from altering the island’s political status quo.
• The president said he was still willing to engage with Beijing, which cut off communication with Taipei in 2016, but only through “orderly exchanges” based on the principles of “equality and dignity”.
• Taiwan is a responsible member of the international community, not a “party that undermines stability”, he also said, in an apparent swipe at...