President Lai: Any Exchange Cannot Sacrifice Democratic Freedom and National Interests

The Presidential Office announced late in the evening that President Lai met with the delegation of U.S. Senator Jim Banks in the afternoon, thanking Banks for his long-standing and firm support for Taiwan, especially at this critical moment, demonstrating strong support for Taiwan through concrete actions.

The President mentioned that Taiwan's defense budget for this year has exceeded 3% of GDP according to NATO standards, and is expected to reach 5% of GDP by 2030. The government has also proposed an 8-year, 40 billion USD special defense budget. In February this year, Banks and 37 bipartisan U.S. senators and representatives expressed concern about Taiwan's special defense budget through a joint letter, clearly pointing out China's threat to Taiwan and expressing clear support for Taiwan's efforts to strengthen its defense capabilities.

He believes that this letter conveyed a very important message: facing authoritarian expansion and regional security challenges, Taiwan is not alone and has the support of like-minded partners; more importantly, Taiwan must also demonstrate its determination to defend its own country, maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, and peace in the Indo-Pacific.

The President said he hopes that the Legislative Yuan, regardless of party affiliation, will jointly support the government's complete special defense budget plan, serving as the strongest backing for the national army, and at the same time demonstrating to the international community Taiwan's determination to continue strengthening its self-defense capabilities and fulfilling its responsibility to maintain regional security.

He emphasized that Taiwan loves peace, but only strength can ensure peace; Taiwan is willing to engage in exchanges, but any exchange cannot come at the cost of sacrificing democratic freedom and national interests.

He stated that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Taiwan's direct presidential election. 30 years ago, facing missile threats from China, the people of Taiwan did not back down but firmly cast their votes; 30 years later, Taiwan should continue to uphold democratic and free values and protect the hard-won democratic prosperity.

The President said that Taiwan will not forget that 30 years ago, during the Taiwan Strait crisis, the United States took practical actions to maintain regional peace and stability. April 10th marks the 47th anniversary of the enactment of the "Taiwan Relations Act." Through the joint efforts of Taiwan and the United States, whether in national defense security, economic and trade exchanges, technological development, or jointly maintaining regional peace and stability, Taiwan and the U.S. have become important partners to each other and look forward to more exchanges and cooperation in the future.

Banks mentioned in his speech that no matter how much pressure the CCP exerts, the world will eventually see the truth. Taiwan's importance lies in its democratic heritage. Taiwan is crucial to the modern global economy and shared prosperity, and it is an indispensable partner in a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Regarding security issues, Banks stated that U.S. President Trump is advocating for a 1.5 trillion USD defense budget, significantly increasing U.S. defense spending; President Lai also demonstrated leadership by promoting increased defense spending in Taiwan to protect the safety of its people. Taiwan's Legislative Yuan should also fulfill its proper function by passing the special budget, clearly conveying Taiwan's firm stance on "maintaining peace through strength" to China and the international community. (Edited by Lin Ke-lun) 1150408