RUTHFULLY YOURS

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says in a new interview that the threat of military intervention from China is growing “every day.”

Tsai warned in an interview with CNN released Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s increasingly assertive foreign policy is a risk for all Asian nations.

“If it’s Taiwan today, people should ask who’s next?” she said. “Any country in the region, if it no longer wants to submit to the will of China, they would face similar military threats.”

Taiwan, which sees itself as a sovereign state with its own democratic government, is considered by China to be a breakaway province.

The Chinese Communist Party has long pushed for reunification, but Tsai and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party continue to push back on reunification under Beijing’s terms.

Tsai said earlier this year that Taiwan would not accept a “one country, two systems” solution to the dispute.

“I want to reiterate that Taiwan will never accept ‘one country, two systems.’ The vast majority of Taiwanese public opinion also resolutely opposes ‘one country, two systems,’ and this is also the ‘Taiwan consensus,’ ” she said in a New Year’s address.

China has been upping its pressure against Taiwan recently, conducting live-fire drills nearby and flying aircraft over the island.

“With China becoming increasingly strong and ambitious, we are faced with growing threats,” Tsai told CNN.

“Our challenge is whether our independent existence, security, prosperity and democracy can be maintained. This is the biggest issue for Taiwan.”

The U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a separate government because of its acknowledgement of Beijing’s “One China” policy.

Still, the U.S. Navy has sailed warships through the Taiwan strait  recently, in what has been seen as a sign of support for Tsai’s government.