TAOYUAN, Taiwan – Taiwan Vice President William Lai returned on Friday from a delicate go to to the United States, thanking Taiwanese folks supporting a visit he stated confirmed the island’s “self confidence” venturing into the worldwide group.
“Because of everyone’s hard work, Taiwan’s power is stronger and stronger, and it showed the international community that Taiwan is a force for good, that the international community really pays great attention to Taiwan,” he stated.
Lai formally solely made transits within the United States, first in New York after which in San Francisco, on his solution to and from Paraguay to attend the brand new president’s inauguration in one in every of solely 13 international locations that maintains formal ties with Taipei.
While within the United States, he gave speeches to the Taiwanese group and met officers from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a U.S. government-run non-profit that handles unofficial relations.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and denounced the transit stops within the U.S., calling Lai a separatist and a “troublemaker”.
Taiwanese officers have stated China is prone to conduct navy workouts this week close to the island, utilizing Lai’s U.S. stopovers as a pretext to intimidate voters forward of subsequent yr’s presidential election and make them “fear war”.
Speaking at Taiwan’s major worldwide airport at Taoyuan after stepping off his flight, Lai made solely passing point out of his U.S. stopovers, concentrating as a substitute on Paraguay and pledges of help he obtained there.
“Thank you for your contributions to the country and to society,” he stated, “allowing Taiwan to very progressively, self confidently and respectfully go into the international community, and winning the support of the international community.”
Lai is frontrunner to be Taiwan’s subsequent president at elections set for January. President Tsai Ing-wen can’t run once more after two phrases.
China particularly dislikes Lai due to feedback he has beforehand made about being a “practical worker for Taiwan independence”, although he has pledged on the marketing campaign path to keep up the established order and supplied talks with Beijing. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
