Taiwan leader pledges defense of island in face of Chinese pressure

President Tsai Ing-wen pledged Sunday to defend Taiwan, one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed Beijing's confidence in reunifying the self-ruled island with the mainland.But amid increasing military pressure on the island Beijing considers part of China, Tsai, in a National Day speech, also called for the two sides to engage in "dialogue on the basis of parity" in order to resolve "cross-strait differences."Calling attention to the "expansion of authoritarianism" as the world's political landscape undergoes drastic change, the Taiwanese president said the island stands on "dem…READ FULL ARTICLE