Taiwan is focused on building a more resilient democracy and would not permit any interference by China in its upcoming presidential election, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Friday said.
China has been trying for years to interfere in Taiwan’s major elections, ever since the first direct presidential vote in 1996, Hsiao said in an interview with Balance of Power on Bloomberg TV, adding that some of Beijing’s tactics have become very sophisticated.
“We are trying to strengthen our democracy, to build a more resilient democracy so that we are less vulnerable to external interference and interventions,” she said. “And ultimately, the people of Taiwan will decide how our elections go. We will not let the PRC [People’s Republic of China] coerce us into making those decisions.”
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Hsiao said that because of Taiwan’s relationship with the US, the former has been gaining the capability to ensure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region by finding ways to curb China’s aggression and deal with its military build-up in the region and its coercive use of military power.
Taiwan’s response to those aggressive moves are within the parameters of its partnership with the US, said Hsiao, a former legislator who has been serving as representative to the US since 2020.
Last year, China used the visit of then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei as an excuse to launch coercive military action against Taiwan, which was very much resented by Taiwanese, Hsiao said.
Taiwan has to constantly struggle to fight back against that type of bullying by China, which is aimed at isolating Taiwan, Hsiao said.
“But again, I do want to reiterate that ultimately our goal is to maintain stability in the region, and we are committed to the ‘status quo,’” she added.
Taiwan has a very different political system from China and would continue to preserve its democracy, its way of life and its right to choose its own leaders, she said.
Taiwan held its first free and direct presidential election in 1996, when Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Lien Chan (連戰) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) were elected as president and premier, respectively. Prior to that, the president and vice president were chosen in a vote by the deputies of the National Assembly.
Hsiao said in the Bloomberg interview that Taiwan would remain in close contact with its partners in the US, and “we also hope that the PRC will be open to dialogue with us as well.”
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