Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday that he welcomed equal, dignified, healthy and orderly exchanges with China, but wondered whether there was goodwill from Beijing given what he said was their blocking of simple things like tourism.
Lai, who took office in May, has regularly offered talks with China but been rebuffed. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and detests Lai as a "separatist". He says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
Speaking at the New Year's day news conference, Lai said China blocked normal interactions, imposing restrictions on Chinese tourists going to or Taiwanese students studying in the island of Taiwan, unlike the similar kind of bans and restrictions not there for Taiwanese bound for China.
"But I want to stress yet again: that Taiwan hopes, under the guiding principles of mutual respect and respect, to seek healthy and order exchanges with mainland China," he said.
The citizens of China are free to go to the United States, free to go to Japan. And yet all these controls in respect of Taiwan, added Lai.
"Is this really showing goodwill towards Taiwan? Can't they treat everyone equally?"
Beijing and Taipei have each accused the other of curbing tourism and travel.
Taiwan warned its people in June to avoid travel to China except for urgent needs, after Beijing said it would put to death any "die-hard" supporters of Taiwan independence.
Chinese President Xi Jinping stated during his New Year's speech on Tuesday that nobody can halt the "reunification" between China and Taiwan.
China's military operates around Taiwan on a daily basis, and last year staged two rounds of war games near the island.
Lai said that the greater the threat from authoritarian countries the more democracies should unite, and pointed to China and Russia's militaries operating together in the Indo-Pacific.
The cooperation between democracies needed to be on defence and security and strengthening the "democratic supply chain", he said.
"If that is not done properly, it will impact economies and industries for all countries, and the lives of people in democracies," Lai said.
"I really hope that in the New Year, democratic countries can be even more united, and achieve the aims of peace, democracy and prosperity."
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