TAIPEI—Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen thanked democratic nations for their support of the island in her Lunar New Year message on Sunday and pledged to "stride out" into the world, sounding a defiant note in the face of unrelenting pressure from Beijing

Pro-China supporters protest the arrival of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Semi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) "We are very experienced in the protests.

China's communist regime is unlikely to consider an invasion of Taiwan as its leadership is "overwhelmed" by the challenges at home, according to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

Taiwan fired warning shots at a Chinese drone for the first time on Tuesday shortly after President Tsai Ing-wen ordered the military to take "strong countermeasures" against what she termed Chinese provocations.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted she was touched by the U.S. move. "Thank you to the U.S. for this moving gesture of friendship. These vaccines will go a long way toward keeping Taiwan safe & healthy."

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visits soldiers at a military base in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Aug. 23, 2022. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters) Tsai said Taiwan wants peace but needs to be able to defend itself.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) greets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on arrival at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for a bipartisan meeting in Simi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023.

Honduras is the ninth diplomatic ally that Taipei has lost to Beijing since pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016.

The current president Tsai Ing-wen is a member of the DPP. Beijing’s leaders look at Vice President Lai as a pro-independence candidate for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. While Mr.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen touted the two island nations' bilateral relations in her welcoming remarks and praised Gonsalves for his willingness to visit Taiwan at a time when Beijing is conducting live-fire drills around Taiwan.

CCP authorities cut official communications with Taiwan in 2016, following the election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who was overwhelmingly reelected in 2020.

(Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) "Taiwan is proud to cooperate with our like-minded partners to expand trade, boost investment, and build more sustainable supply chains in semiconductors and other key sectors," Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen

Lai delivered a speech on behalf of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the welcoming dinner, praising Mr. Abe as an international statesman who had contributed to peace and stability in Japan and the Indo-Pacific.

McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California, where she made a stopover en route to meeting allies in Latin America. The MCCUC did not respond to multiple requests for comments from The Epoch Times.

The meeting between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California in early April, followed by China's military drills around Taiwan, has further deteriorated U.S.–China relations.

Taiwan fired warning shots at a drone for the first time on Tuesday shortly after President Tsai Ing-wen said she had ordered the military to take "strong countermeasures" against what she termed Chinese provocations.

Speaking at a reception attended by then-President Tsai Ing-wen during his Taiwan visit, Wong, then-deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, said the U.S. commitment to Taiwan's determination had "never been stronger."

The CCP Silent On Taiwan's Offer Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Jan. 1 that Taiwan would be willing to help China deal with the COVID-19 outbreak following the CCP's abrupt U-turn on its zero-COVID policy last month.

TAIPEI—Taiwan will extend compulsory military service to one year from four months in 2024 due to the rising threat the democratically governed island faces from its giant neighbor China, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the month, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen reiterated Taiwan's commitment to self-determination everywhere.

In a new year message for China last week, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said military conflict is not the answer. Beijing responded with a stern warning that if Taiwan crossed any red line it would lead to "profound catastrophe."

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said in a tweet on Aug. 5 that her country is ready to respond as needed to China’s threats.

But this was edited to have a pro-Beijing slant: “China's foreign minister is warning Taiwan is the ‘first red line’ that must not be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations, as sources claim President Tsai Ing-wen plans to meet U.S.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks while inspecting reservists training at a military base in Taoyuan on March 12, 2022.

Beijing staged a three-day military drill around the self-ruled island on April 8 after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in California.

On July 5, 2019, the TECO deputy consul wrote to Sun to invite her and Cuomo to attend a banquet in Manhattan during the upcoming visit of then-President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen, the indictment said.

Taiwan's presidential office told Reuters that the group would meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Aug. 15. Taiwan's foreign ministry published pictures of four of the group being met at Taipei's downtown Songshan Airport after arriving on a U.S.

President Tsai Ing-wen issued instructions to spare no efforts in the search and rescue mission and "to further clarify the cause of the accident," her spokesman said.

Beijing began the drills on Saturday after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Paraguayan President-elect Mario Abdo Benítez (R) greets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at his house in Asunción, Paraguay, on Aug. 14, 2018.