Taiwan not part of PRC, Lai says, after Trump warning on 'independence'

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) reiterated Sunday his position that Taiwan is already independent and not part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump warning against Taiwan moving toward independence.

Speaking at a youth forum in Taipei held as part of events marking the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) 40th anniversary, Lai said the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, and the PRC are "not subordinate to each other."

The DPP's 1999 "Resolution on Taiwan's Future" and the "Four Commitments" introduced by former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), remain the foundation of current government policy, said Lai, who also serves as the DPP's chairperson.

The 1999 resolution states that Taiwan is already a sovereign and independent country under the name Republic of China, that the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other, and that Taiwan's future should be decided by the 23 million people in Taiwan.

The "Four Commitments," meanwhile, reaffirm support for Taiwan's free and democratic constitutional system, and uphold that the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other.

They also oppose any attempts to annex or encroach upon the country's sovereignty, and state that the future of the ROC must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people, Lai said.

"So everyone can clearly understand that the meaning of the words 'Taiwan independence' is actually that Taiwan does not belong to the People's Republic of China," Lai said. "It means that the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other."

Lai's comments came after Trump said in an interview with Fox News taped while he was still in China on Friday that he did not want to see Taiwan move toward independence, but instead hoped to see tensions eased between Taiwan and China.

"We're not looking to have somebody say, 'Let's go independent because the United States is backing us,'" Trump said.

Lai urged the public to unite in safeguarding Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy, arguing that democracy could not exist without sovereignty.

"As long as people identify with Taiwan, they are the masters of this country," Lai said, adding that regardless of whether people refer to the country as the ROC or Taiwan, they are all referring to the 23 million people living in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.

In response, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Sunday urged Lai to "return to the 1992 Consensus" and oppose Taiwan independence, arguing that doing so would help avoid cross-strait conflict.

Citing the ROC Constitution and former President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) cross-strait framework, the KMT said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait do not recognize each other's sovereignty but do not deny each other's governing authority.

It said that while Taiwan is not part of the PRC, the Constitution maintains that both sides belong to "one China," meaning that the mainland is not considered a foreign country.