Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen affirmed that defending democracy is the "great" mission of the armed forces during her visit on Saturday to a military base and training exercises in Chiayi, southern Taiwan. During her visit, she stated, "I believe that only through continuous training and enhancing the military's readiness for war can we be more capable of protecting our homeland and defending our country," emphasizing the importance of protecting and defending Taiwan.
Tsai has repeatedly expressed her willingness to engage in talks with China, but she asserts that Taiwan will defend itself if attacked, and that decisions about the future of the island's people are solely theirs to make.
She was accompanied on the visit by Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng and the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Wellington Koo. Tsai is set to travel to the United States and Central America on a high-profile and sensitive visit starting Wednesday, noting that China has criticized the United States for allowing the Taiwanese president to visit, even though Washington is merely a stopover on her trip in a technical sense.
At the end of her tour, she is expected to meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
