Taiwan’s top legislative leader, You Si-kun, is in Washington this week for meetings with top China critics in Congress, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, as the Biden administration prepares a $500 million fast-tracked arms package for the island in the face of growing aggression from China.

The $500 million is viewed as a down payment the U.S. plans to provide by the end of the year on a much larger promised $4.5 billion package the Biden administration has pledged to deliver over the next four years. Most of that money has been delayed, partly because of existing U.S. commitments to support Ukraine.

Through visits with key lawmakers, You Si-kun hopes to deepen economic and security ties with U.S. officials as worries grow about a potential invasion by China, which considers the thriving democracy part of its territory but has downplayed its territorial claims until President Xi Jinping renewed them in recent years.

The visit comes at a delicate time for the Biden administration. Last week, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart in Vienna for two days in what the White House deemed were “substantive and constructive” talks, a hopeful sign of easing tensions between Washington and Beijing.

China has responded to past visits between Washington and Taiwanese officials, including Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August, by stepping up military drills around the island and unleashing a slew of retaliatory economic restrictions on Taiwan. Beijing also warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy not to visit Taiwan after reports surfaced that he planned a trip there later this year. McCarthy met with Taiwan’s outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen in California in April but is not expected to have a face-to-face meeting with You this week.

You, a founding member of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the 1980s, has served as president of its legislative body since 2020 and previously served as the island’s premier from 2002 to 2005 under President Chen Shui-bian.

You spoke with RealClearPolitics on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, you called on the United States to rely on the virtues of justice and mercy to guide its decision-making as Taiwan asks for continued military support against China’s aggression. You also talked about China posing a global threat, including to the West. What can you tell skeptics in the United States who ask why it’s in the U.S. self-interest to come to Taiwan’s aid if China were to invade?

We can see that over the [past] 10 years, the global democratic landscape is withering, with examples in Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and with the Russian aggression against Ukraine. According to the 2022 Freedom House report, the state of democracy in over 60 countries is declining. And if China continues to become more powerful, and if the democracy of many countries continues to wither because of [China’s] Belt and Road initiative, then civilization will face a very dark future. We are afraid that the values of democracy, freedom, and human rights will have a very, very dark future.

Taiwan is very important because it’s the only democracy in Chinese-speaking communities. If Taiwan’s democracy is destroyed, then China can tell the world that human rights [and] democracy are not suitable for Asian countries.

If we would like to see international-ordered structures created by Europe and the United States continue and not be destroyed by China, we need to face or overcome the challenges posed by China.

Putting that aside, when we look at the global economy, every day, 50% of global trade travels through the Taiwan Strait. If there is any war, that would profoundly impact the global economic supply chain, so protecting Taiwan is in the global economic interest.

You spoke at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington three months ago and called out China for engaging in an “all-out assault” on religion. Do you think the United States is doing enough to confront China’s religious and human rights abuses? What could our government do better?

The U.S. has made tremendous contributions to protecting global liberty, human rights, and freedom. In the year 2000, the whole world thought that when China adopted a market economy … that would lead to democratization. Regrettably, this expectation was wrong and failed our expectations. This misjudgment led to a bigger and more powerful China, which is an authoritarian country, and that’s why it has threatened global peace and stability.

The U.S. has been very active in collaborating with Asian countries such as the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan to form a kind of crescent alliance of defense in the hope of deterring the CCP, so it will not take any reckless actions against Taiwan.

What do you make of the shifting rhetoric from Washington on protecting Taiwan? President Biden last year said U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, but the White House appeared to walk back the comments, saying the U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed.

When we think of the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, I suggest that the U.S. needs to be firm and determined so that the CCP regime will not take reckless action.

The Biden administration has rejoined the United Nations Human Rights Council after the Trump administration in 2018 pulled out, calling it a “cesspool of political bias” and a protector of human rights abusers. What is the more effective U.S. strategy?

It’s probably the result of different times and different situations. As far as I know, the Trump administration’s withdrawal from this council was because of CCP [efforts] to control the majority of votes in the council.

But we respect any U.S. decision to participate in this council or not.

On this trip, you plan to meet with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and you’ve already met with other top China critics in Congress, but Speaker McCarthy is not among the group who plan to meet with you. What message does it send if the speaker of the House declines to meet with you during your visit?

Because my visit this time is [because of an] invitation by the Hudson Institute to give a keynote speech. And in addition, I want to take this opportunity to invite members of the Congress to visit Taiwan in September for the International Religious Freedom Summit and also for a parliamentary intelligence and security summit to be held in January next year. It's not one of my major purposes to meet certain people. So, I think it’s never too late to meet anyone I would like to meet in the future if there is any opportunity.

Do you think the outcome in Ukraine is related to what will happen in Taiwan? Do you see any parallels?

Russian aggression in Ukraine reminds the global democratic community that authoritarian regimes tend to invade other countries any time and out of [sync with] our expectations. The best strategy is to be prepared so that we can preserve peace. Because of the Russian-Ukraine war, that helped the United States and European countries do some soul-searching and draw their attention to the situation across the Taiwan Strait. And because of the Russian-Ukraine war, the people of Taiwan have raised their alert against the CCP regime.

Considering your views of China as a global threat and its “all-out assault” on religion and other human rights, what do you think about U.S. lawmakers and former senior officials who leave office and now lobby on behalf of Chinese companies, such as TikTok and others? For instance, former Sen. Barbara Boxer was registered as a foreign agent for the video surveillance company Hikvision, which the CCP uses for repression against the Uyghurs and other religious minorities, before she deregistered amid a backlash.

The U.S. is the leader of global freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. So, the U.S. needs to be a role model to act justly and to love mercy so the U.S. can continue to promote these universal values worldwide. When I read about some U.S. politicians [lobbying for Chinese entities], I hope they will have a further understanding about the true nature of the CCP authoritarian regime and to be cautious when dealing with the CCP regime.