Taiwan wants to create a "new era" of peace with China, which should set aside the baggage of history and have positive dialogue, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says in a letter to Pope Francis, adding military action cannot resolve problems.
The issue of self-ruled and democratic Taiwan has shot to the top of the international agenda since US president-elect Donald Trump broke with decades of precedent in December by taking a congratulatory phone call from Tsai.
That, along with comments by Trump the "One China" policy was up for negotiation, has infuriated Beijing, which views Taiwan as a wayward province, to be bought under its control by force if necessary.
China is deeply suspicious of Tsai, whose ruling Democratic Progressive Party espouses the island's formal independence.
In her January 5 letter to the Pope, released by her office on Friday, Tsai says upholding peace across the Taiwan Strait calls for goodwill and communication.
"Based on many years of experience in cross-Strait negotiations during my political career, I am convinced that military action cannot resolve problems," Tsai says.
"Taiwan and mainland China were once embroiled in a zero-sum conflict that caused tension in the region and anxiety among our peoples. In contrast, today people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait enjoy stable lives and normal exchanges under peaceful separate governance."
Taiwan is committed to maintaining its democracy and the status quo of peace but will not bow to pressure, she says.
The Vatican is one of only a handful of countries which still maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though the Pope is trying to heal a decades-old rift with China where Catholics are divided between those loyal to him and those who are members of a government-controlled official church.
