Taiwan’s Tsai says no backing down to Chinese aggression

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says the self-governing island democracy won’t back down to China. She compared China’s growing aggression to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Tsai’s comments follow the conclusion of the twice-a-decade congress of China’s Communist Party at which it added a line “resolutely opposing and deterring” Taiwan’s independence into its party constitution. Mainland China has long threatened to annex the island it considers its own territory by force if necessary. Speaking to an international gathering of pro-democracy activists in Taipei, Tsai invoked Russia as an authoritarian regime that will do “whatever it takes to achieve expansionism.” Taiwan enjoys strong U.S. military support, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.