Taiwan’s vice president and potential presidential candidate declared on Sunday while travelling through the United States that his country will never capitulate in the face of escalating Chinese threats, contradicting Beijing’s criticism of his visit.
William Lai, a front-runner in the Taiwanese presidential election in January, stopped in New York on his way to Paraguay, where he will be present for the country’s new president’s inauguration on Tuesday.
Only 13 nations, including this one from South America, have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that China’s ruling Communist Party claims as its own despite never having had any kind of control over it.
Lai framed Taiwan’s long-term survival as something the world community should be concerned about in an address to supporters at a luncheon banquet in New York.
“When Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, and when there is peace on the Taiwan Strait, there will be world peace,” Lai reportedly remarked, according to Taiwan’s presidential office.
“No matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared nor cower, and we will uphold the values of democracy and freedom.”
Lai made his remarks after the Chinese foreign ministry denounced his visit and referred to him as a “trouble maker through and through.”
China, it was stated, vehemently opposes any official contact between the US and Taiwan as well as any “‘Taiwan independence’ separatists to the US.”
Lai’s transits, which include a stop in San Francisco on his way back on Wednesday, have been described as usual by both Taiwan and the US.
A senior administration source told CNN on July 16 that such transits were “fairly common” and that they were “unofficial, in keeping with our US One China policy.”
In January 2022, Lai last travelled via the US.
Lai, 63, is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is in power, and is noted for being more overtly pro-independence. This group is known as the “deep green” camp.
Former physician turned politician with a Harvard education has described himself in the past as a “pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence.”
Beijing, which has not renounced the use of force to capture the self-governing island, has grown particularly hostile to him as a result.
But after obtaining the DPP nomination, Lai has changed his stance on China.
Beijing has increased economic, diplomatic, and military pressure on Taiwan under the direction of Xi Jinping, particularly in the wake of President Tsai Ing-wen’s 2016 victory and subsequent election to a second term in office in 2020.
Tsai is ineligible to run for a third term under Taiwan’s constitution.
In January, Taiwan will hold elections that might have a significant impact on world relations at a time when Xi’s potential to fulfil his promise to “reunite” the island with China is being closely watched.
The Kuomintang, a political group that was originally the Chinese Communist Party’s fiercest foe but has subsequently changed to support far closer ties with Beijing, is the DPP’s historical rival.
Since the US and the government of Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations, travel by Taiwanese officials to the US is referred to as “transits” rather than “visits” because the stopovers are part of an unofficial trip en route to another location.
Despite Beijing’s warnings and threats, Taiwan’s President Tsai visited California in March and spoke with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China began three days of live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan after Tsai’s tour.