On the morning of August 22, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. In remarks, President Lai thanked Ambassador Haley for her strong support for Taiwan, and for publicly calling on the democratic community to stand together to prevent expanding authoritarianism from jeopardizing global peace and stability. The president emphasized that Taiwan, situated in the first island chain, will continue to increase its national defense capabilities and economic resilience. Taiwan, he stated, will also stand alongside the democratic community to demonstrate the strength of deterrence and prevent war by preparing for war, and will use its strength to seek out and achieve peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows:

I want to warmly welcome Ambassador Haley and Mr. Michael Haley, who are visiting Taiwan for the first time. Ambassador Haley attended yesterday’s Ketagalan Forum, where she gave a keynote speech. The people of Taiwan deeply felt the warmth of Ambassador Haley’s friendship and her strong support for Taiwan.

For a long time, I have wanted to express my gratitude to Ambassador Haley in person. During her tenure as ambassador to the UN, Ambassador Haley spoke up in support of Taiwan, and when Taiwanese were unable to enter the UN headquarters, she shared our feelings of injustice. Ambassador Haley has strongly asserted that the UN belongs to the whole world, and people of every country should have the right to enter the UN headquarters to engage in work.

I also want to thank Ambassador Haley for recognizing Taiwan’s success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. She has strongly defended that the human right to health of the people of Taiwan should not be ignored by the World Health Organization. She has also publicly advocated that Taiwan should be a member of the international community, which would give us opportunities to do even more for the world, and she has encouraged the UN and other international organizations to embrace Taiwan.

I would also like to thank Ambassador Haley for publicly urging the US and the international community to support Taiwan as we face the authoritarian threat of China. She has additionally called for the US to sign a free trade agreement with Taiwan. This would help us prevent suppression and isolation by China, and give us even more strength to resist China’s threats.

Taiwan deeply understands that amidst geopolitical change and the intense threat posed by rising authoritarianism to global democracy, we are situated in the first island chain in the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan must therefore continue to increase its national defense capabilities and economic resilience. We will also stand alongside the democratic community to demonstrate the strength of deterrence and prevent war by preparing for war. Taiwan will use its strength to seek out and achieve peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Finally, I want to once again thank Ambassador Haley for publicly calling on the democratic community to stand together to prevent expanding authoritarianism from jeopardizing global peace and stability. The power of justice in her words has been deeply felt by the people of Taiwan.

Ambassador Haley then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai and members of the administration for hosting them, and saying it was a privilege and an honor to be able to speak at the Ketagalan Forum the previous day. When looking at Taiwan, the ambassador said, one sees a courageous group of people that understand the importance of freedom, and understand the importance of democracy. And when looking at Communist China, she said, one sees that they put their importance in control and suppression, and showing power in a way that people feel less rather than more.

Ambassador Haley stated that such moral clarity could not have been clearer than during the COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized that Taiwan used the power of its voice to let everyone know that there was a virus from China, which was in stark contrast to the lack of moral clarity by China, who hid the idea that the virus came from China, didn’t tell the rest of the world about the warnings, and allowed millions of people to die because of their arrogance. China has yet to take responsibility for the millions of people around the world that died, she emphasized.

Ambassador Haley stated that she has come to Taiwan in solidarity to let the people of Taiwan know that the American people support Taiwan, and the American people want Taiwan to be successful. She stated that they look forward to a partnership where we can rely on each other from a military standpoint, a business standpoint, and an academic standpoint, and from the idea that we have to continue to spread the importance of democracy around the world.

The ambassador stated that she believes it is important to go back to the American people and tell them why they should care about Taiwan. This is a time where we need to be vigilant, she added, saying that one can look at what happened with Russia and Ukraine, and with Hamas in Israel. She stated that we can’t wait to see if China invades Taiwan, and that we need to get in front of the situation now. Ambassador Haley then stated that we need to strengthen our alliances, we need to come up with a plan, and we need to know exactly what our message is going to be to the world.