'The West must heed the warning from Taiwan: China is threatening global freedom', Benedict Rogers
All leaders across the democratic world must listen to President Lai and stand up to the bullies in Beijing
Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te has told his people to defend their democracy and resist any attempt to force the island to become part of China.
Speaking to the annual conference of his Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Mr Lai – elected two years ago – warned of the “red terror” coming from Beijing, including the new “ethnic unity law” which took effect in China on July 1 and which criminalises criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wherever it occurs in the world.
There are fears that this law could be used to arrest and prosecute Taiwanese whom Beijing regards as separatists.
The president is absolutely right and his message is important not only for Taiwan, but for the entire democratic world.
The West – as well as democracies in the region such as Japan and Korea – should heed his warning about the threat from China.
Beijing poses two different but equally significant dangers.
The first is its current insidious and intensifying campaign of influence, infiltration, intimidation, and espionage. This is already well under way and threatens the foundations of liberal democratic societies everywhere.
The second is active war, which would be catastrophic for the entire world.
Under the first danger, Beijing’s tentacles have spread far and wide, and its influence is already being felt.
In Britain, we have had alleged Chinese spies in Parliament, cyber attacks on the Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Defence, interference with academic freedom in our universities, and a campaign of mounting transnational repression against critics of the CCP.
Last month, two men received significant jail sentences for carrying out surveillance and harassment operations against Hong Kong exiles in the UK.
Members of the Hong Kong, Tibetan, Uyghur and dissident Chinese diaspora communities face growing threats, including Carmen Lau, the pro-democracy activist and former Hong Kong district councillor, who has been targeted with threatening and sexually explicit messages generated by artificial intelligence. Even I have had threats, as I have described in The Telegraph before.
Similar incidents have happened throughout most Western democracies. In Japan, a Chinese diplomat went further, calling for the beheading of Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese prime minister, last November.
Takaichi had said that an attack on Taiwan would threaten Japan, to which the Chinese consul-general in Osaka said on social media that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off”. Even if he did not mean it literally, it was extraordinarily inappropriate language for any diplomat to use.
Around the world, China tries to shut down criticism. In Bangkok last year, an exhibition of pro-democracy artwork focused on Hong Kong, Tibet, the Uyghurs, as well as Myanmar, was censored at the behest of the CCP.
And Beijing appears to have taken over Thailand’s immigration and asylum policy, resulting in the forced return of 40 Uyghurs from Bangkok to China last year.
Just last week, Chinese dissident Zhang Xinyan, who was arrested in Thailand in May, was prevented from leaving to a country that had offered her resettlement, under pressure from Beijing.
These are just some of the ways in which the CCP is already posing a threat to freedom, democracy and the rule of law worldwide.
Taiwan is in the top 20 world economic powerhouses, as an exporter and importer, and ranks as the world’s fifth freest economy. But most significantly, it is the undisputed nerve centre of the global digital economy.
Over 60 per cent of the world’s semiconductors, and over 90 per cent of the world’s most advanced microchips, are produced in Taiwan.
A war in the Taiwan Strait could shut down our computers, mobile phones and all the devices upon which so much of modern life and work depend, and crash the global economy.
Even more seriously, Beijing is bankrolling Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, keeping Myanmar’s military regime in power with the provision of arms, funds, and diplomatic support, and providing a lifeline to sustain Kim Jong-un’s regime.
To return to Taiwan, if the island falls to China – through military invasion or economic blockade – it will be a disaster for democracy. Taiwan has a thriving civil society, free media and independent judiciary. For moral reasons alone, it is in all our interests to stand with this vulnerable nation and defend it against threats from Beijing.
Furthermore, if Xi Jinping decides to attack Taiwan militarily, the economic impact of such a conflict on the world will dwarf the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and the pandemic.
If China succeeds in annexing Taiwan, then it will have control of our digital lives. Taiwan is not some far-away island of which we know little – it is vital both to our economy and our democratic values, and so it is in all our interests to heed Mr Lai’s cry.
The Chinese regime is a bully, and bullies only understand one language: strength. It will be emboldened if it smells weakness. It will be encouraged if it senses cowardice. But if we have the courage to defend our values and security, at home and in Taiwan, then disaster could be averted.
If Xi receives a clear, unambiguous message that the consequences for him and the CCP would far outweigh whatever benefits he may perceive in taking Taiwan, then he may be deterred. Andy Burnham, and all leaders across the democratic world, must listen to Mr Lai and stand up to Beijing.
This article was published in The Telegraph on 19 July 2026.
Photo: Winston Chen on Unsplash