Retired U.S. officials met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday and praised the island’s democratic processes under which it elected a new president and legislature over the weekend in defiance of China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and threat to annex it by military force.
“Taiwan’s democracy has set a shining example for the world, a democratic success story based on transparency, the rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms,” former national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.
America’s commitment to Taiwan is “rock solid,” he said.
The visit came as the Pacific Island nation of Nauru announced it was switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, reducing Taiwan’s number of diplomatic allies to just 12.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“Taiwan’s democracy has set a shining example for the world, a democratic success story based on transparency, the rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms,” former national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.
Hadley was joined by former Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, who affirmed bipartisan support for Taiwan “based on our unofficial but warm relationship, our insistence on exclusively peaceful means to address the cross (Taiwan Strait) issues, the importance of dialogue and the avoidance of unilateral efforts to change the status quo.”
Gray zone activities refer to the application of military and socio-economic pressure that comes short of outright armed conflict.
“We hope that Taiwan-U.S. relations continue to advance and serve as a key driving force in regional and global prosperity and development,” she said.
China has refused to acknowledge the result of the election, which left the legislature closely divided between the DPP and the Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang or KMT.
Lai’s victory means the Democratic Progressive Party will hold the presidency for a third four-year term, following eight years under Tsai.
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That’s a promising development for the region.
