CHINESE REPRESSION: Taiwan will continue working with international partners to defend freedom and democracy, Lai and the vice president said at separate meetings By Chen Yun and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writer Taiwan will continue to strengthen cooperation with democratic partners to address the challenges posed by authoritarianism, as China’s continued military and “gray zone” activities have raised widespread international concern, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.Lai made the remarks at a meeting with a delegation from the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) at the Presidential Office in Taipei. The delegation included representatives from the NED’s key partners: the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, the Center for Int