Taiwan parliament speaker stresses importance of defending island's democracy in US visit

The speaker of Taiwan’s parliament visited the United States this week, stressing the importance of defending the island nation’s democracy amidst increasing threats from China. The speaker also reiterated the consequences should Taiwan fall to Beijing.

Taiwanese parliament speaker You Si-kun visited the United States this week and reiterated the importance of defending the island during an International Religious Freedom Summit on Wednesday. You also criticized China’s suppression of its religious minorities, while describing Taiwan as the only democracy in the Chinese-speaking world and its importance in global supply chains.

“So it’s very important to safeguard Taiwan, especially its democracy,” said You, who belongs to the governing Democratic Progressive Party.

“If Taiwan falls into the sphere of influence of the CCP, then the beacon of democracy will be destroyed. And China may invade the first island chain and will cause a threat to the entire world,” You added, referring to Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party, and its ambitions in the region, especially the South China Sea that it claims to have control over.

You’s visit to Washington comes amidst speculations that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could soon visit the island, following his Democratic predecessor Nancy Pelosi, who visited Taiwan in August last year. You did not say whether he was meeting with McCarthy or other US officials while in the US, but said that China overreacted to such congressional visits, describing the reaction by Beijing as “very normal.”

Following Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August last year, the island has since been visited by delegations of foreign lawmakers defying the threats from China and resulting in increased military drills close to the island. Taiwan also has strong support from a divided US Congress.

On Thursday, CIA director William Burns warned against underestimating China’s ambitions toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims are its territory even as Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely sobered by Russia’s performance in its invasion of Ukraine last year. Speaking at Georgetown University in Washington, Burns said that the US knew “as a matter of intelligence” that Xi has ordered the Chinese military to be ready to conduct an invasion of Taiwan by 2027.

However, Burns noted that Xi has not yet explicitly decided to conduct an invasion by 2027 or in the coming years, but it was “a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition.”