Taiwan premier says return to China is not an option for people

Taiwan's premier, Cho Jung tai, publicly rejected the idea of returning to Chinese rule on Tuesday, saying the prospect was not available to the island's 23 million people after Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed sovereignty claims in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. Cho spoke to reporters outside parliament, invoking Taiwan's formal name to underline his message. "We must once again emphasise that the Republic of China, Taiwan, is a fully sovereign and independent country," he said. "For the 23 million people of our nation, 'return' is not an option, this is very clear."

Cho's comments came on a day when cross strait rhetoric intensified following Xi's outreach to Trump. The call, which Beijing cast as a reiteration of its claim over Taiwan, prompted an immediate response from Taipei that framed the question as one of democratic choice and national identity. In Taiwan's political system, the premier handles day to day government operations while defence and foreign relations fall largely under the president's purview, a division that keeps ultimate diplomatic decisions in the hands of President Lai Ching te.

Beijing has long offered Taiwan a "one country, two systems" formula as a path to reunification. That model carries little political currency on the island and has been rejected outright by President Lai. No mainstream Taiwanese political party supports the approach, a rejection sharpened by memories of its application in Hong Kong and the erosion of political freedoms there in recent years.

The exchange also comes amid heightened regional friction. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo worsened this month after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a Japanese military response. Beijing has described Taiwan as its most important and sensitive diplomatic issue, a stance that complicates trilateral ties between Beijing, Tokyo and Washington.

The immediate implications are primarily political and strategic, but economic consequences could follow. Taiwan remains central to global technology supply chains, particularly advanced semiconductors. Sustained diplomatic friction or any escalation of military risk could unsettle markets and add to supply chain anxieties that already factor into corporate and investor decisions worldwide. Financial markets often react swiftly to rising geopolitical risk, and firms with exposure to cross strait trade may reassess contingency planning and investment.

Domestically, Cho's declaration reinforces the government line that Taiwan's future must reflect the will of its people. It also signals a coordinated posture with President Lai even as the constitutional division of responsibilities places foreign affairs at the presidential level. How Washington and Beijing respond to this public reassertion will influence the near term trajectory of cross strait diplomacy and regional security. For now the statement crystallises an enduring reality on the island, namely that the idea of a return to Chinese rule lacks support among Taiwan's population and political establishment.