Facing Beijing’s threats, Taiwan president says peace ‘only option’ to resolve political differences

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has said peace with China is the “only option,” while strongly asserting the self-governing island’s defenses. Tsai said in a National Day address that the international community views stability in the Taiwan Strait as an “indispensable component of global security and prosperity.” China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has been increasingly sending ships and warplanes across the Taiwan Strait in an effort to intimidate the population of 23 million who strongly favor the status-quo of de-facto independence. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party will seek to maintain power in elections next year against the Nationalists, who officially support unification between the sides that divided amid civil war in 1949.