Taiwan VP vows to 'resist annexation' during sensitive US trip
by AFP Staff Writers
New York (AFP) Aug 14, 2023

Taiwanese Vice President William Lai vowed on Sunday "to resist annexation" in a speech given during a weekend trip to the United States that China has opposed.

Lai is the frontrunner in Taiwan's presidential elections next year, and is making transit stops in the United States en route to and from Paraguay, where he will attend the inauguration of president-elect Santiago Pena.

His trip has already roused anger from Beijing, which claims democratic Taiwan as part of China, and which particularly dislikes Lai, accusing him of espousing separatist views.

At a New York luncheon on Sunday, Lai reiterated he would continue to uphold the core tenets of the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen -- also hated by Beijing for refusing to accept that Taiwan is a part of China.

"I will continue... our commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty," he said in a speech carried by Taiwanese channel TTV News.

China had said earlier on Sunday that it was closely monitoring "troublemaker" Lai's visits, and vowed to take "resolute and forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty".

In a video released by Taiwan's presidential office, Lai also reiterated that they "must uphold the value of democracy and freedom".

"At this critical moment, we promise again here and now that no matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we will never be afraid or back down," Lai told an audience that included representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan -- the de facto US embassy for the island.

Taiwan had sought to downplay Lai's US trip as routine -- he is expected to continue on to Paraguay, then stop in San Francisco on his way back to Taiwan.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office on Sunday accused him of "going to the US to betray Taiwan for his own selfish personal gain."

"William Lai continues to stubbornly defend the idea of Taiwanese independence... in an attempt to wrangle votes," said spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian.

"'Taiwan independence' is incompatible with peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

In recent years, China has stepped up military and political pressure on Taiwan, conducting near-daily incursions by warplanes and naval vessels around the island.

In April, when Taiwanese President Tsai met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, China staged three days of military exercises simulating a blockade of Taiwan.

US calls for calm from China as Taiwan VP transits
Washington (AFP) Aug 14, 2023 - The United States on Monday called for calm from China, which has voiced anger over a stopover in America by Taiwan's vice president, with Washington describing the travel as routine.

William Lai, who is the frontrunner in Taiwan's presidential election next year, stopped in New York and will return via San Francisco on a trip to Paraguay, one of a dwindling number of nations to recognize Taipei.

"There is no reason to overtorque this transit into anything escalatory," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

He said it was the 11th time in the past two decades that a Taiwanese vice president has transited through the United States, which recognizes only Beijing despite its strong ties with self-governing democracy Taiwan.

"This is consistent with our One China policy. We are not interested in deviating from the status quo," Patel said.

It should not be "any kind of pretext or coercion or provocative activity," he said.

China has called Lai a "troublemaker" and vowed to take "resolute and forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty."

China claims Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to seize it. It launched major military exercises after Nancy Pelosi, then House speaker, visited Taiwan last year and later when President Tsai Ing-wen met top US lawmakers as she transited through the United States.

Lai is not expected to hold high-profile meetings although in remarks in New York he vowed to "resist annexation" and "uphold the value of democracy and freedom."

While not meeting him, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul, led a statement welcoming Lai to the United States and calling on allies to "stand with Taiwan."

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