Taipei: During a high-profile visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, the former NATO chief cautioned that democracies must come together to counter "rising autocracy", saying Taiwan should be allowed to determine its own future should be given.
The comments were made by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and NATO Secretary General from 2009 to 2014. He was talking to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen.
Rasmussen, founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which organizes an annual democracy summit in Copenhagen, said, "We need to strengthen our fight against autocracies or our efforts to combat them.
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If we can cooperate, the world's democracies, which account for 60% of the global economy, will be seen as a formidable force in Beijing and the capital cities of other autocracies.
Taiwan is constantly at risk of being invaded by China, which views the self-governing democracy as a part of its territory that must one day be taken back - by force if necessary.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns that Beijing could follow suit. Rasmussen emphasized Taiwan's "right to independence and to exist in peace" as well as "the right to determine its own future" in his remarks to Tsai.
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The "reunification" of Taiwan, as President Xi Jinping calls it, cannot be passed down to future generations, according to China's most outspoken leader in a generation.
As Beijing ramped up military pressure and launched its biggest war game in decades to protest a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August, tensions reached a peak.
China opposes all official dialogue with Taiwan and has become increasingly irate over visits by Western politicians.
Beijing approved Rasmussen's foundation in 2021 after inviting Tsai to speak at its annual democracy summit every three years starting in 2020.
An increase in Chinese military activity around Taiwan is, according to Tsai, "unhelpful" to maintaining bilateral relations, she said in a New Year's speech on Sunday.
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"War has never been a viable solution to issues. More people can only experience security and happiness through dialogue, cooperation and the shared objective of promoting regional stability and development," the speaker stressed.