Taiwan President Lai Rejects Pressure on Democracy as Trump, Xi Trade Sharp Words

Taiwan’s leader has declared that the island will not bow to outside pressure and abandon democratic rule or self-rule, coming only days after Taipei featured heavily in talks between Washington and Beijing.

In a Sunday social media post, President William Lai Ching-te wrote that Taiwan would neither provoke nor fuel conflict, yet would not give up national sovereignty, dignity, or its democratic and free way of life because of pressure.

Lai said Taiwan has long stood as a firm defender of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and is not the side trying to alter it. He blamed China as the “root cause of regional instability.” Beijing treats Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to pursue reunification by force if it deems that necessary.

The president’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday that he was not “looking to have somebody go independent” when asked about Taiwan. That interview followed Trump’s meeting earlier in the week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, at which friction between Taipei and Beijing weighed heavily on the agenda.

Chinese state media quoted Xi as calling the Taiwan question the “most important issue in China-US relations.” Xi reportedly warned that if the matter were mishandled, the two countries could clash or even go to war, placing the wider bilateral relationship in grave danger.

Disputes over Taiwan’s status trace to the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. Washington does not formally recognise Taiwan as an independent state, yet successive US administrations have backed the island through weapons sales and public statements that imply America might intervene if China attacked.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Xi “feels very strongly” about opposing Taiwanese independence. The US president said he “made no commitment either way” on the issue.

Trump also said he has not yet decided whether to approve a new US$11 billion arms package for Taiwan that Congress has already cleared. “I haven’t approved it yet. We’re going to see what happens,” he told Fox News. “I may do it. I may not do it.”

In his Sunday statement, Lai underlined that security ties and arms sales between Taiwan and the United States are “key elements” in keeping the region stable. “This is not only a US security commitment to Taiwan, but also the most important deterrent force against undermining regional peace and stability,” he said.