U.S. calls for restraint from China after Lai's National Day Address

Washington, Oct. 10 (CNA) The United States on Thursday urged China to exercise restraint following President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) speech on the Republic of China's (Taiwan) National Day.

It is longstanding tradition for Taiwan's president to deliver public remarks on the Double Ten National Day that have historically prompted little response from Beijing, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on background in response to a CNA email inquiry.

"We are not going to speculate on what the People's Republic of China will or will not do this year, but we see no justification for a routine annual celebration to be used as a pretext for military exercises. We urge Beijing to act with restraint," the spokesperson said.

There had been reports prior to the speech that China was planning military exercises targeted at Taiwan to be held in the days following National Day activities.

In his speech delivered Thursday morning, President Lai said the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China (PRC) not being subordinate to each other is an objective fact and the current status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

He also said Taiwan was willing to work with China to address climate change, prevent infectious diseases, and maintain regional security, in pursuit of peace and shared prosperity that will benefit people on both sides.

Asked about Lai's speech by CNA, Richard Bush, former chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), described it as "moderate" as it did not say much about the PRC military and coercive threats.

Bush said he worried, however, that Beijing would not have a positive response based on its United Front logic and its mistrust of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party.

Rush Doshi, former U.S. National Security Council director for China, wrote on his X account on Thursday that "Lai has taken a step toward stability."

"So the question now is whether Beijing wants to respond with escalation or its own restraint," he said.

In response to Lai's National Day address, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) on Thursday criticized Lai for using various means to "sell the fallacy of 'Taiwan independence,'" and accused him of revealing "his pernicious intention to escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait for political gain."

"Lai's speech deliberately seeks to sever the historical connection between the two sides of the strait and reiterated the rhetoric of 'mutual non-subordination' and 'insisting on sovereignty,'" Mao said.

Mao reiterated China's "one China principle," stating that Taiwan is an indivisible part of China's territory.

"No matter what Lai's administration says or does, they cannot change the objective fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China," she said.

As of noon Friday, there had been no reports of Beijing taking military action in response to Lai's speech, and its military sorties, which are tracked daily by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, did not show any unusual patterns from early Thursday to Friday.