TAIPEI: Taiwan will not bow down to totalitarianism, President Lai Ching-te said on Thursday (Dec 5) in the US territory of Guam, calling Taiwan and the United States “brothers”.
Lai arrived in Guam, a major US military base, late on Wednesday on what is officially only a one-night stopover as part of a tour of three Pacific island countries which maintain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and whose military operates around the island on a daily basis, has condemned the United States for allowing his transit stops, which included two days in Hawaii at the start of the trip.
Addressing members of the overseas Taiwan community as well as Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and Northern Mariana Islands Governor Arnold Palacios at a lunch, Lai said Taiwan’s path from the “darkness of dictatorship” to democracy was hard fought.
“I hope that all of our compatriots, no matter where you are, will make a joint commitment to continue to deepen our democracy and protect it, and that we will never bow down to totalitarianism, right?” Lai said, to applause, in comments carried live on Taiwan television stations.
Mentioning the victory of Taiwan’s baseball team at an international championship in Japan last month, Lai said he wanted to be “humble” and say that Taiwan beat the US team on its way to the finals.
“Although we are brothers, when it comes to baseball you have to rely on strength,” he added.
Lai also thanked the United States for arranging his transits through both Guam and Hawaii.
