Taiwan's Lai visits island off China, pledging both peace and defense
TAIPEI -- Taiwan wants to "continue a life of democracy [and] freedom" and rejects being ruled by China's Communist Party, President Lai Ching-te said on Friday, while visiting an island that has been a focus of increasing maritime pressure from Beijing.
At the same time, he insisted that Taiwan "ardently loves peace" and hopes for "peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait."