Taiwan’s new representative to the United States, Alexander Tah-ray Yui (俞大㵢), says Europe should openly voice concerns about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Yui made the comments during an interview on the POLITICO podcast Power Play published Thursday.
Yui served as Taiwan’s Vice Foreign Minister from June 2021 to September 2023, when he became representative to the European Union. He replaced the former representative to the U.S., Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), earlier this week, following her resignation to run for vice president of Taiwan.
Yui says that the best way that Europe can help Taiwan is by actively voicing concerns about Chinese aggression toward Taiwan. He says he hopes Europe will not look the other way in the face of Chinese aggression.
When asked if Taiwan’s military buildup might antagonize China, he drew comparisons with Ukraine and Russia. Yui posed the question; after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, would it have been wise to advise Ukraine not to prepare for war because doing so might anger Russia into further escalation?
Yui says that although he does not think a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is likely in the near future, it remains a distinct possibility. He says he believes that regardless of who wins the 2024 presidential election in Taiwan, he expects China to exert considerable pressure on Taiwan between election day on January 13 and inauguration day on May 20. He says China may even hope such pressure might lead the election winner to make conciliatory comments towards China in their inaugural address.
In the interview, Yui describes himself as a soldier whose uniform is a suit and tie and whose weapon is a pen. When asked who he would like to hear interviewed for the podcast, he said he hopes to hear from the next president of Taiwan, whoever that may be.