Taipei, Jan 25 (EFE).- Taiwan’s president-elect and current vice president, William Lai, said Thursday that he hoped the United States would continue supporting the island amidst China’s “authoritarian expansion.”
“We hope that the United States will continue to provide strong support to Taiwan, deepen bilateral cooperation, and work with democratic partners to ensure regional peace and prosperity,” Lai said in a meeting with US delegates, according to a statement released by the island’s presidential office.
The visit of the bipartisan delegation from the US Congress to the capital, Taipei, is the first since the Jan. 13 presidential election, in which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party won a third-straight term.
Lai, who secured 40 percent of the votes and will take office on May 20, said the island was at the forefront of China’s authoritarian expansion, adding that “stability in the Taiwan Strait is crucial to regional and global peace and prosperity.”
In the meeting with Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart and Democratic Representative Ami Bera, Lai said he looked forward to deepening cooperation with the US for regional and global prosperity and development.
Balart told Lai the “support of the United States for Taiwan is firm. It’s real, and it is 100 percent bipartisan.”
The US delegation, which reached the island on Wednesday for a three-day visit, also met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who “thanked the US Congress for its long-term support for Taiwan-US relations regardless of party affiliation.”
Visits by US delegations to Taiwan have, in the past, caused tensions between Beijing and Washington.
The US is the island’s main weapons supplier and has said that it would defend Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China.
Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949, but China claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a rebellious province. EFE
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