A ‘routine’ transit stop in New York by Taiwanese Vice President William Lai has rankled Beijing.
On Saturday, August 12th, the VP and presidential forerunner at next January’s elections made a short stop in New York on his way to Paraguay—where he is to attend the country’s new president’s inauguration.
In his tweets on X (formerly Twitter), his schedule, however, seemed to encompass plenty more besides.
Beijing deems such visits by officials of Taiwan, which it views as a renegade province, as acts of provocation. These, it believes, signals Washington’s willingness to deal with Taiwan as if it were an independent state, a red line in Beijing’s eyes.
Any Taiwanese officials participating in them are, in turn, deemed equally sympathetic to that proposal—something very much the case with Lai, who has described himself as a “practical worker for Taiwan independence.”
As such, China’s Foreign Ministry did not delay in formulating a response.
In a statement specially drawn up for the incident, it called the Taiwanese vice president someone who “clings stubbornly to the separatist position” and it painted him as “a troublemaker through and through.”
It went on to accuse U.S. and Taiwanese authorities of having “arranged for Lai to engage in political activities in the U.S. in the name of having a ‘stopover’.” This, it said, “seriously violates the one-China principle, gravely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry interpreted Lai’s visit as part of a larger ploy to undermine China, showing
that the fundamental cause of the continued tensions in the Taiwan Strait is the Taiwan authorities’ attempt to solicit U.S. support for “Taiwan independence” and that the U.S. is bent on using Taiwan to contain China.
It went on to state that China would take “resolute and strong measures” (as yet unspecified) to “safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
But the Taiwanese vice president had words of his own to impart. During an address to supporters at a Sunday luncheon, Lai said that “if Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, if the Taiwan Strait is peaceful, then the world is peaceful,” and that “no matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared nor cower, we will uphold the values of democracy and freedom.”
While Lai stated that, on the basic principle of dignity and parity, he was “very willing” to enter into talks with China in the interest of peace, he stressed that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future and that the Republic of China—Taiwan’s formal name—and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate to each other.”
Lai’s upcoming transit stop had been touched upon during a July 31st U.S. State Department press briefing.
Lai’s earlier remarks (“When Taiwan’s president can enter the White House, the political goal that we’re pursuing will have been achieved”), spoken at a campaign event—created a sensation, as they seemed to undermine the U.S.’ “one China” policy. Spokesperson Matthew Miller said it had “not changed,” and continued to be so.
On Lai’s transit, which was certain to raise Beijing hackles, Miller said “such transits have happened numerous times going back decades over multiple administrations, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary about them.”
While officially, Taiwan and the U.S. have no diplomatic relations, the U.S. is the main arms supplier to the island state, and is required under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide it with the means of defending itself.
On Wednesday, August 16th, Lai will fly back from Paraguay and will do another stopover in San Francisco.
Paraguay is one of only 13 countries—Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Vatican City—which still formally recognizes Taiwan’s independence.
Following Honduras’ severing of ties last March, Paraguay is Taiwan’s sole remaining diplomatic ally in South America.
From Beijing, Lai’s visits are likely to elicit military drills, which it had carried out around Taiwan following Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s return from California last April and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in August 2022.
