00:00Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te says that United States President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
00:06He says this would be the case if Trump can persuade Chinese President Xi Jinping to abandon the use of military force against Taiwan.
00:17The United States remains Taiwan's most important international supporter, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
00:24Trump is expected to meet Xi later this month at the Asia-Pacific Leaders' Summit in South Korea.
00:31He has previously argued that he should receive the same recognition given to four of his White House predecessors.
00:38The Nobel Peace Prize for this year is due to be announced in Norway on Friday.
00:43When asked what he would say to Trump if they met, Lai replied that he would urge the U.S. President to closely watch Xi's actions.
00:50He warned that China has been conducting increasingly large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait
00:57and expanding its presence in the East and South China Seas.
01:02Lai said China's growing military reach poses a challenge not only to Taiwan but to global stability.
01:08He explained that if China were to annex Taiwan, it would gain greater power to compete with the U.S.
01:15and weaken the rules-based international order.
01:17Such developments, he said, would directly affect U.S. national interests.
01:22Because Taiwan and the United States do not maintain formal diplomatic relations,
01:26Taiwanese presidents do not meet or speak directly with U.S. presidents.
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