Taiwan Vice President Says He Won’t ‘Cower’ to Beijing’s Threats

Taiwan’s presidential front-runner was defiant during a speech to supporters in New York on Sunday after China’s foreign ministry condemned him as “a troublemaker through and through."

Vice President William Lai stopped in the U.S. over the weekend en route to Paraguay for the inauguration of its new president - riling Beijing, which considers the democratic island a runaway Chinese province. Paraguay is one of only 13 countries with formal diplomatic relations with democratic Taiwan.

"No matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared nor cower,” Lai said. “We will uphold the values of democracy and freedom."

While China objects to any bilateral visits by U.S. and Taiwanese officials, it is especially sensitive to Lai, who once called himself a "practical worker for Taiwan independence." Taiwan has never formally declared its independence from China and Beijing hasn’t ruled out military force to bring the self-governing island to heel.

"Lai stubbornly adheres to the separatist position of Taiwan independence and is a troublemaker through and through," China’s foreign ministry said. 

On Monday, the People's Liberation Army posted to its eastern command’s WeChat account of troops rehearsing the storming of a beach. The post said its soldiers had driven armored vehicles "to the enemy frontline positions and launched a fierce attack."

China scrambled its jets for war games near Taiwan in April after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from meeting U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

The U.S. has approved more than $1 billion in arms sales and transfers to Taiwan. 

Lai is viewed as the leading candidate to replace Tsai in elections next January.