Lai Ching-te Talks Defense, China in New York Times Interview

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te gave an exclusive interview to The New York Times during the outlet's DealBook Summit. Lai said that Taiwan needs to spend more on its defenses in order to keep peace in the Taiwan Strait. He also urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to focus on China's internal economic issues, rather than taking over Taiwan.

Transcript

00:00President Lai Ching-de says Taiwan needs to spend more on its defenses, and it needs to do it now.

00:06President Lai was speaking at the New York Times Dealbook Summit remotely,

00:10telling host Andrew Ross Sorkin that China's military is getting ready to take Taiwan by force by 2027.

00:16That's why he's pushing a special 40 billion U.S. dollar defense budget

00:20to boost military spending over the next several years, a record amount.

00:25And the president says it's the only way to achieve peace.

00:27We believe that peace is priceless, and war has no winners.

00:33While we aspire to peace, we cannot harbor illusions about it.

00:36Peace must be secured through strength.

00:40This comes after opposition lawmakers blocked Lai's defense budget bill from being reviewed.

00:44Still, he seems upbeat about the bill's prospects.

00:48Lai also sent a message to Beijing, urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to focus on his own country's

00:54problems instead of trying to take over Taiwan.

00:57Taiwan's growth rate this year is projected to reach 7.37 percent,

01:02while international financial institutions estimate China's growth to be only a little above 4 percent.

01:09We sincerely hope that as China faces economic pressures,

01:14President Xi Jinping will focus not on territorial expansion,

01:18but on improving the well-being of the Chinese people.

01:21This all comes as the U.S. and China seek to resolve trade tensions,

01:26something that's raised fears that Taiwan could be on the negotiating table.

01:30Washington is Taipei's biggest security backer,

01:32and increased defense spending would also benefit America.

01:35But at the Dealbook Summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant wouldn't say whether the U.S.

01:40would help Taiwan if war broke out.

01:42Taiwan's military is not its only source of strength.

01:45The country is set to see its biggest economic growth in 15 years,

01:49largely due to its tech dominance.

01:51And Taiwan's leaders are hopeful that its key position in the global chip supply chain

01:55will help bolster its defenses against China.

01:58Scott Huang and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

02:01Scott Huang and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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