By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 1 hour ago, Updated 1 hour ago
William Lai arriving to attend the inauguration of the elected president of Paraguay, Santiago Pena, in Luque, Paraguay, on August 14, 2023. CESAR OLMEDO / REUTERS
Washington called for calm on Monday after a visit criticized by Beijing by the Taiwanese vice president William Laiin the United States which pledged on Sunday to “resist annexationof its archipelago by China.
According to Taiwanese authorities, William Lai, the ruling party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential election, “transitssimply by American soil before traveling to Paraguay to attend the inauguration of President-elect Santiago Peña.
A “pragmatic independentist”
But this trip has angered China, which considers Taiwan as one of its provinces and opposes any official contact between Taiwan and Western countries. Such contacts would legitimize the Taiwanese authorities and undermine Chinese claims of sovereignty over the island. “There’s no reason to turn this layover into something that leads to an escalation“, said Monday to the press a spokesman for the American diplomacy, Vedant Patel. During a lunch in New York on Sunday, William Lai, with assumed independence positions, reaffirmed that Taiwan must “defend the values of democracy and freedom“, during a speech broadcast by the Taiwanese channel TTV News. “I will maintain (…) our commitment to resist annexation or encroachment on our sovereignty“, did he declare.
«At this critical moment, we promise again here and now that no matter how great the authoritarian threat to Taiwan, we will never be afraid and we will never back down.assured William Lai in front of an audience including representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan which, de facto, acts as the United States embassy on the island. China had indicated earlier that it was closely following the visit of the “troublemaker“and had undertaken to take”firm and energetic measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity“. The Taiwan Affairs office in Beijing also accused him on Sunday of “continue to stubbornly advocate the idea of Taiwan independence in a bid to win votes” and of “going to the United States to betray Taiwan for his own selfish self-interest».
William Lai, a Harvard-educated doctor turned politician who called himself “pragmatic separatistis Beijing’s pet peeve. He received the nomination from the Democratic Progressive Party to run for president in 2024 and succeed President Tsai Ing-wen, whose second term will end. Beijing-Taipei relations soured in 2016 with the arrival of Tsai Ing-wen as president, with Beijing intensifying its political and military pressure in recent years. In April, while President Tsai was meeting US Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, China held three days of military exercises simulating a blockade of Taiwan.
2023-08-14 20:34:34
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