Taiwan will not back down to threats, Taiwan VP says on US trip
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[August 14, 2023]
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan will not be afraid nor back down
in the face of authoritarian threats, the island's vice president told
supporters on a U.S. visit that Beijing has condemned, while reiterating
a willingness to talk to China.
William Lai, also frontrunner to be Taiwan's next president at January
elections, is in the United States on what is officially a transit stop
on his way to Paraguay for the inauguration of its new president.
Paraguay is one of only 13 countries to maintain formal ties with the
Chinese-claimed island.
Taiwan and the United States both say the stopovers, including one in
San Francisco on the way back, are routine, but China has denounced them
and called Lai a separatist "troublemaker".
Lai told a supporters lunch in New York on Sunday that "if Taiwan is
safe, the world is safe, if the Taiwan Strait is peaceful, then the
world is peaceful", 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, we will uphold the values of
democracy and freedom," he said.
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China considers Taiwan its most important diplomatic issue, and is a
constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington, which is the
island's most important international backer and arms supplier.
China has a particular dislike of Lai, who has previously described
himself as a "practical worker for Taiwan independence", a red line for
Beijing which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island
under its control.
WILLING TO TALK
Lai, who has pledged to maintain peace and the status quo, reiterated in
New York that on the basic principle of dignity and parity he was "very
willing" to talk to China and seek peace and stability.
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![](../images/081423PIX/news_v36.jpg)
Taiwan's Vice President William Lai
arrives at the Lotte Hotel in Manhattan in New York City, New York,
U.S., August 12, 2023. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/14/images/ads/current/atlantabank_quarter_FAIR_2023.png)
But Lai said he will protect Taiwan's sovereignty, that only
Taiwan's people can decide their future and that the Republic of
China - Taiwan's formal name - and the People's Republic of China
are "not subordinate to each other".
Lai's speech was attended by Ingrid Larson, managing director of the
American Institute in Taiwan, a U.S. government-run non-profit that
carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan.
Both Taipei and Washington are aiming for the U.S. stopovers to be
low-key, and have called on China not to take any provocative action
in response.
Still, Taiwanese officials say China is likely to launch military
drills this week near Taiwan, using Lai's U.S. stopovers as a
pretext to intimidate voters ahead of a next year's election and
make them "fear war".
On Monday, the Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's
Liberation Army, which has responsibility for the area around
Taiwan, showed pictures on its WeChat account of troops practicing
storming a beach, though did not give the location, timing or
specifically mention Taiwan.
It said the soldiers guided armored vehicles "to the enemy frontline
positions and launched a fierce attack".
China carried out war games around Taiwan in April after Taiwan
President Tsai Ing-wen returned from California where she met U.S.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while also on a transit on her way back
from Central America.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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