Taiwan presidential hopeful Lai vows to keep cross-strait status quo

Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate of the island's ruling party, vowed Tuesday he would maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait if elected and remain open for engagement with Beijing on the basis of equality and dignity.Voters in the self-ruled democracy will go to the polls on Saturday to pick the successor of the incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing, which aims to bring the territory into its fold by force if necessary, has slammed Lai as an advocate of "Taiwan independence" and a "troublemaker" who seeks to drive the island to war.Lai stressed at …READ FULL ARTICLE