Taiwan president sees lesson in Ukraine war

Taipei, March 12

Taiwan’s President says Russia’s war on Ukraine shows the island would need “the unity of all the citizens” to defend itself if it were attacked.

Training for military veterans in Taiwan was doubled in length to two weeks this year amid increased efforts by China’s ruling Communist Party to intimidate the self-ruled island democracy, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

President Tsai Ing-wen said Saturday that “the recent situation in Ukraine once again proved that to protect the country, not only the assistance from the international society is necessary, but also the unity of all the citizens.

Tsai said that “educational mobilisation is an implementation of the spirit of all-out defense with the principle of local mobilisation and local engagement of the enemy.” Taiwan and the mainland split in 1949 following a civil war. They have no official relations but multibillion-dollar ties of trade and investment. AP