TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China should face up to public opinion on Taiwan and start talks, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chair David Lee (李大維) said Wednesday (March 20).

The SEF is a semi-official body in charge of direct contacts with China, including the handling of accidents and judicial cases. However, since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, Beijing has refused to hold talks with her administration.

Tsai is due to step down on May 20 and will be succeeded by Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who won the Jan. 13 election.

Lee said in an online interview Taiwan had consistently been willing to talk with China but Beijing had always refused, per CNA. He hoped that China would adjust its attitude after Lai’s inauguration.

Cross-strait relations had grown into more than just bilateral relations between two “areas,” he said, referring to previous descriptions of Taiwan and China. The whole world was now paying attention due to the global economy and industrial supply chains, according to Lee.

Turning to Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation, the former foreign minister said he felt China did not really want to see Taipei left without any diplomatic allies at all, per CNA. Only 12 countries still recognize Taiwan, most of them small island nations in the Pacific and the Caribbean.