Taiwan Will Not Be Intimidated by China’s Authoritarian Expansion: Taiwanese President

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, on Aug. 21, 2024. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on democratic countries to team up and take “concrete” steps to confront the Chinese regime’s authoritarian expansion.

“China’s growing authoritarianism will not stop with Taiwan; nor is Taiwan the only target of China’s economic pressures,” Lai said in a speech on Aug. 21 at the Ketagalan Forum, an annual security event hosted by Taiwan’s foreign ministry.

“China intends to change the rules-based international order,” Lai continued. “That is why democratic countries must come together and take concrete action. Only by working together can we inhibit the expansion of authoritarianism.”

Tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated in recent months, mainly after Lai took office in May. His election victory in January ushered in an unprecedented third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party (DDP), which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has labeled as a “separatist force” that defies the regime’s call for “reunification” with the self-ruled island.

Lai said Taiwan “faces the immediate threat of China” given its location on the first island chain, which runs from Japan southward through Taiwan and the Philippines and onward to Malaysia. The first island chain is considered a barrier that prevents China from having easy access to the Pacific Ocean for its naval and air forces.

“Taiwan will not be intimidated. We will take responsibility to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Lai said. He explained that the island has been dealing with the CCP’s hybrid warfare tactics, including cyberattacks, cognitive warfare, disinformation, and efforts to influence local elections.

Lai pointed out that Taiwan has become less reliant on the Chinese market, with exports to China as a percentage of total exports dropping from 43.1 percent in the first half of 2010 to 31.2 percent in the first half of this year. The decrease marked the lowest for the same period in the last 22 years, he said.

Taiwanese investment in China as a percent of the island’s total outbound investment also decreased to an all-time low last year, going from 83.8 percent in 2010 to 11.4 percent in 2023, he added.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s exports to 18 countries under the government’s New Southbound Policy—which includes the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam—reached a record-high $50.2 billion in the first half of this year, according to Lai.

Lai reiterated his four-pillar plan to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait, including increasing the defense budget and diversifying trade through new trade agreements.

Another part of the plan calls for strengthening partnerships with “like-minded partners,” Lai said, particularly on semiconductors and manufacturing what he called “democracy chips.”

“We hope our partners can be united as we support the democratic umbrella. We must take collective action to confront the challenges presented by authoritarianism and defend our shared values,” the president said.

Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, attends the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, on Aug. 21, 2024. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times

UN Membership

Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, delivered a speech at the forum on Wednesday. She applauded Taiwan’s leadership role in global efforts to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, even though the island is not a member of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Taiwan shouldn’t just be in the WHO. Taiwan should be a full member in the United Nations. You have every right to sit at the same table with the world’s countries,” Haley said.

On Oct. 25, 1971, Taiwan was removed as a permanent member of the United Nations after the General Assembly voted to pass Resolution 2758. China’s communist regime, officially known as the People’s Republic of China, took Taiwan’s U.N. seat.

Taiwan is not a member of the WHO or several other international organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, due to opposition from China.

Haley said the United States and its allies should come together to support Taiwan and “relentlessly push” for the island’s global acceptance.

“We should stand with Taiwan today, not wait until China invades. If we take the necessary steps now, China will think twice about starting a war,” she continued. “The United States must elevate Taiwan on the world stage.”

The former ambassador suggested that the United States sign a free trade agreement with Taiwan, pointing out that doing so would benefit both sides while “weakening China’s economic leverage.”

In 2022, Taiwan was the United States’ ninth largest trading partner, with $136.3 billion in two-way goods trade, according to U.S. trade data.

Last year, CIA Director William Burns warned that CCP leader Xi Jinping had ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.

In May, a few days after Lai was sworn in, Beijing launched what it called “punishment“ military drills encircling Taiwan.

Haley said Taiwan serves as a beacon of hope for Chinese people oppressed by the CCP. “The 24 million people who live in Taiwan prove that China’s 1.4 billion people can do better than communist tyranny,” she pointed out.

“So long as Taiwan is democratic and free, you remind the enslaved masses in mainland China of the future that could and should be theirs,” Haley continued.

“You keep alive the hope that such a future is within their grasp, a future where they finally cast off the shackles of communist dictatorship and finally take charge of their own destiny.

“This, more than anything, is why the West must embrace Taiwan, without exception or apology,” she added.