CNN —Taiwan will never back down in the face of growing threats from China, the island’s vice president and presidential hopeful said Sunday during a transit through the United States, defying Beijing’s condemnation of his trip. William Lai, a front-runner in Taiwan’s presidential race in January, made a stop in New York en route to Paraguay, where he will attend the inauguration of its new president Tuesday. “When Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, and when there is peace on the Taiwan Strait, there will be world peace,” Lai said, according to Taiwan’s presidential office. In March, Taiwan’s President Tsai transited in California and met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, despite warnings and threats from Beijing. Following Tsai’s trip, China launched three days of live-fire military drills around Taiwan.

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Persons: William Lai, Lai, Taiwan’s, ” Lai, ”, Xi Jinping, Tsai Ing, Tsai, Xi, “, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: CNN, Communist Party, US, Democratic Progressive Party, Harvard, Kuomintang, China’s Communist Party, Taiwan’s Locations: Taiwan, China, United States, New York, Paraguay, “, Taiwan Strait, ”, San Francisco, Beijing, California