Taiwan president urges democracies to unite at largest-ever gathering of foreign lawmakers in Taipei

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te welcomed what he called the “largest-ever” delegation of foreign lawmakers to Taiwan and said Tuesday it showed the importance of democracies uniting, even as Beijing pressured members of the delegation not to visit.

“This demonstrates the support and the value various other countries place on Taiwan,” Lai said. “It also sends an important message to democratic countries around the world. Maintaining democracy requires unity, and we must protect democracy together.”

Lai made his remarks at a conference in Taipei held by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC, a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing.

Beijing views the island democracy as a renegade province and has been upping its threats to annex it by force if necessary. Lai’s party, the Democratic Progressive Party, doesn’t seek independence from China but maintains that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation.

Beijing sees Lai as a separatist and refuses to speak with him. China has ramped up pressure against the island since Lai took office in May, sending ships and planes on a large military drill to show displeasure at his inauguration.

Lai’s comments come as IPAC comes under renewed scrutiny from Beijing. Lawmakers from at least six countries told The AP earlier this week that Chinese diplomats were pressuring them not to attend the conference, in what they described as efforts to isolate the self-governed island.

Kang covers Chinese politics, technology and society from Beijing for The Associated Press. He’s reported across Central, South, and East Asia, and was a Pulitzer finalist for investigative reporting in China.