Taiwan president urges democracies to unite at largest-ever gathering of foreign lawmakers in Taipei

Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has welcomed what he said is the largest ever delegation of foreign lawmakers to Taiwan, even as Beijing pressured members of the delegation not to visit. Lai made his remarks Tuesday at a conference in Taipei held by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing. Beijing views the island democracy as a renegade province and has been upping its threats to annex it by force if necessary. Lawmakers from at least six countries said that Chinese diplomats were pressuring them not to attend.