Like-minded partners 'most effective defense' against China: Taiwan President

Tsai made particular note of Beijing's "coercive measures," such as the imposition of sanctions, against countries, organizations, and individuals who disagree with or question its behaviour.

New Delhi: Taiwan's partnership with like-minded countries will "prove to be the most effective defense of all" against daily Chinese threats, President Tsai Ing-wen told a summit on Monday. The president made the comment in a pre-recorded video broadcast at the 2023 Copenhagen Democracy Summit, adding: "We must remain united to deter and to stop [China's] aggressive behavior."

Tsai made particular note of Beijing's "coercive measures," such as the imposition of sanctions, against countries, organizations, and individuals who disagree with or question its behaviour. In addition, she said, authoritarian regimes such as China "actively conduct influence operations to erode our confidence in democratic institutions and freedom" through the spread of disinformation and misinformation.

In the face of China's threats on a daily basis, Tsai said, the commitment to democracy by the people of Taiwan "has never been stronger." The summit, held May 15-16 in the Danish capital, is organized by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation (AoD), with support from dozens of organizations, including the Taipei-funded Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

Tsai's remarks on Monday, with a focus on championing Taiwan's democracy and calling for a united front against authoritarianism, echoed her previous three speeches made at the summit in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Apart from Tsai, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel also addressed the summit.

The first day of the summit also featured pre-recorded interviews conducted by AoD Executive Director Jonas Parello-Plesner with Taiwanese nationals Tony Lu and Jack Yao, both of whom volunteered in the international legion to fight in the war in Ukraine against Russian troops from March to June 2022.

Lu, who was assigned to send supplies to the front line, said in the interview that he had gone to Ukraine with the belief that "one day people from all around the world will come to help us [in Taiwan]." Meanwhile, Yao said he felt the need to help stop Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which he said had reminded him of China's threat against Taiwan, adding, "If we don't stop them, we [Taiwanese] will be next."