Taiwan’s new envoy to the US, Alexander Tah-ray Yui, called on the US and Europe not to “look the other way” in the face of China’s desire to reclaim the self-governing island, Politico reported.
“The best defence, best help that you can do for Taiwan … is by actively, openly voicing your concerns.”
Yui claimed that China was “preparing very seriously” to be able to take back Taiwan, so the island was “increasing [its] defence capabilities” to “confront any possible aggressions in the future.”
The top diplomat compared the situation to the war in Ukraine, which he said was “a possible mirror to Taiwan.”
So the threats are there, and we want to preserve our way of life. We want to preserve our democracy. We want to preserve liberties, and we will defend it.
Taiwan is also preparing for the upcoming presidential election on January 13, with officials warning that China may try to influence the outcome. Yui expressed his expectation that China would put enormous pressure on Taiwan between the election and the inauguration of a new president in May.
“They will try to do maximum pressure so that the new president-elect will yield to the Chinese demands, so that in his speech on May 20th, he will include conciliatory content towards the Chinese demands.”
