Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said during an interview with Taiwanese media that he reluctantly and necessarily classified Mainland China as a hostile foreign force according to the Anti-Infiltration Act.
In an interview published on the website of Taiwan's Financial Times on the 7th, Lai Ching-te stated that Taiwan and Mainland China are neighbors with close economic and trade relations. Over the past 20 to 30 years, a large number of Taiwanese businessmen have invested in Mainland China. Taiwan has also been the largest source of foreign investment in Mainland China, with roughly 2 million Taiwanese people engaging in business and investment in Mainland China annually, helping to boost the Mainland Chinese economy. “The relationship is very close, but if it were not absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t make such a classification.”
He noted that Mainland China has not given up the use of force against Taiwan, and in recent years, there has been an increase in propaganda and military intimidation, as well as united front infiltration against Taiwan. He mentioned that as a result, in 2024, more than 60 people in Taiwan had been prosecuted, or even sentenced, which is three times the number in 2021. “Among them, active-duty and retired military personnel accounted for about two-thirds.”
Lai Ching-te stated that under such circumstances, it was necessary to classify Mainland China as a hostile foreign force according to the Anti-Infiltration Act. This enables the Taiwanese public to understand the situation, and allows the state apparatus to adjust its direction, whether through legal amendments or policy adjustments, with the aim of ensuring national security, social stability, and long-term peace for the people of Taiwan.
In March, at a national security meeting, Lai Ching-te directly pointed out that Mainland China is a “hostile foreign force” with unyielding determination to annex Taiwan and eliminate the Republic of China. He also proposed 17 response strategies.