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 against China. She compared China’s growing pressure to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Tsai’s comments follow a twice-a-decade congress of China’s Communist Party at which it added a line to its constitution “resolutely opposing and deterring” Taiwan’s independence. 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.