Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who came to Taiwan to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony of President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin of the Republic of China, stated that “the more China bullies Taiwan, the more the international community supports Taiwan.”
President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin of the Republic of China were sworn in on May 20th. U.S. President Biden specially dispatched former Presidential Assistant and Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, former AIT Chairman Richard Bush, current AIT Chairman Laura Rosenberger, and others to Taiwan to celebrate.
According to Voice of America, during an interview on May 29th, Armitage stated that the main message of their visit to Taiwan was to let Taiwan know that both parties in the United States support Taiwan’s democracy. He praised President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration speech, saying its content sent a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party.
“In my view, the Chinese may understand one of the many things Lai Ching-te said, which is that China must stop intimidating Taiwan. On the other hand, Lai Ching-te also said, ‘We are willing to engage in dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and dignity, thus elevating Taiwan to a higher level.'”
Just three days after President Lai Ching-te took office, China conducted a large-scale military exercise lasting two days around Taiwan. Armitage commented, “Taiwan’s geographical location in the world is the definition of living next to tyranny. Taiwan has no choice but to endure all this, but when China is busy bullying Taiwan, looking at the world, more and more people are speaking up for Taiwan.”
“China does not understand that the more it bullies Taiwan, the more support Taiwan receives from the international community,” Armitage said.
Regarding whether cross-strait relations will become increasingly tense after President Lai Ching-te takes office, Armitage believes that looking at the main cabinet composition of the new Taiwan government, “we can see continuity from the Tsai Ing-wen government to the Lai Ching-te government. This is a signal to Taiwan’s friends and a calm signal to Beijing.”
Armitage stressed that Taiwan should learn from the experience and lessons of the war in Ukraine. “Taiwan must focus on the effective means we have seen in Ukraine, such as unconventional and asymmetric warfare like drones. There are also air defense systems, Patriot missiles (called missiles in Taiwan), and so on,” he said.
The 79-year-old Armitage served as Deputy Secretary of State during the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, holding the position of the second-highest-ranking official in the State Department. He has also held various positions at the Pentagon, including Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during President Reagan’s administration from 1983 to 1989. In 1993, Armitage founded Armitage International, where he served as president, specializing in providing consulting services in international relations and national security to government departments and major corporations.
Based on Armitage’s personal observations, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping “is not so interested in China, only interested in the Communist Party.”