US delegation praises Taiwan’s democracy after pro-independence presidential candidate wins election

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Retired U.S. officials met with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday and praised the island’s democratic process that produced a new president-elect and legislature over the weekend in defiance of China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and threat to annex it by military force.

“Taiwan’s democracy has set a shining example for the world, a democratic success story based on transparency, the rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms,” former national security advisor Stephen Hadley said.

America’s commitment to Taiwan is “rock solid,” he said.

Taiwan on Saturday elected current Vice President Lai Ching-te as the new head of government, a move likely to prompt China to maintain its military, diplomatic and economic threats against the island.

Hadley was joined by former Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, who affirmed bipartisan support for Taiwan “based on our unofficial but warm relationship, our insistence on exclusively peaceful means to address the cross (Taiwan Strait) issues, the importance of dialogue and the avoidance of unilateral efforts to change the status quo.”

Tsai said following the election that Taiwan’s “need to continue to progress and move forward remains unchanged.”

“We hope that Taiwan-U.S. relations continue to advance and serve as a key driving force in regional and global prosperity and development,” she said.

Despite having cut official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, the U.S. remains the island’s chief diplomatic ally and source of military hardware and intelligence.

Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections have always been a source of contention between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that divided amid civil war in 1949,