Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday that President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize if he can persuade Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, prompting Beijing’s regime to lash back and accuse Lai of “prostituting” himself to gain U.S. favor.
Lai made the remarks during an appearance on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show in the United States.
“We hope to continue receiving President Trump’s support. Should President Trump persuade Xi Jinping to permanently abandon any military aggression against Taiwan, President Trump would undoubtedly be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” said Lai, adding he would advise Trump to “pay particular attention to the fact that Xi Jinping is not only conducting increasingly large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, but is also expanding military forces in the East China Sea and South China Sea.”
Lai also added that the threat posed by China “extends beyond merely annexing Taiwan.”
“Once Taiwan is annexed, China will gain greater strength to compete with the United States on the international stage, undermining the rules-based international order,” he warned. “Ultimately, this will also impact U.S. homeland interests. Therefore, I hope President Trump will continue to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
Lai pledged to boost Taiwan’s defense spending, as urged by President Trump, to show resolve against Chinese aggression. Trump has called for Taiwan to raise military spending to 10% of its GDP—a move endorsed Tuesday by his Pentagon nominee for the Indo-Pacific, John Noh.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office fired back with an aggressive statement accusing Lai of “spouting nonsense” and claimed he has “engaged in unprincipled foreign pandering and bottomless selling out of Taiwan, squandering the flesh and blood of the people, prostituting himself and throwing in his lot with foreign forces.”
“Lai Ching-te and the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces are but ants shaking a tree: they will ultimately be swept into the dustbin of history,” the Communist statement raved. “We have a firm will, strong determination, and powerful capabilities to crush all ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and external interference, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and protect the safety and well-being of the people of Taiwan.”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that China is “increasing the frequency of its military activities around Taiwan and developing new equipment to improve its attack capabilities,” echoing Lai’s recent remarks. The report also warned that Beijing is using A.I.-driven “hybrid warfare” to erode public support for Lai’s administration and his defense buildup plans. Taiwan, it noted, is prioritizing anti-drone training and seeking advanced drone defense systems, as drones are expected to play a major role in any Chinese invasion and are already central to China’s “grey zone” information warfare tactics.
