Taiwan’s new president urges China to ‘face reality’ and work toward peace

Taiwan’s new president urged China on Monday to “face reality,” end its military incursions across the Taiwan Strait, and work with the self-governed island – as equals – to prevent a war that both sides agree would devastate the world.

“China’s military actions and gray-zone coercion are considered the greatest strategic challenges to global peace and stability,” President Lai Ching-te said in his inaugural address to the nation and visiting dignitaries, soon after he and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s former envoy to the United States, took their oaths of office.

“I … want to call on China to stop its political