We must abide by the truth, which is what I mean by pragmatism.

It is that Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called the Republic of China.

It's not part of the People's Republic of China.

The ROC and PRC are not subordinate to one another.

It is not necessary to declare independence.

What is your roadmap to formal independence?

My responsibility is to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait while protecting Taiwan and maintaining democracy, peace and prosperity.

So no such framework exists.

We must work to maintain the peaceful status quo because Taiwan is already a sovereign country.

China keeps pushing on the status quo and it keeps pushing. It's fired a missile over Taiwan.

It's crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait and it simulated a naval blockade. What is your red line?

Increased tensions impacting the status quo in the Taiwan Strait have not originated from Taiwan.

They are due to China's growing assertiveness.

China not only seeks to annex Taiwan, it also hopes to change the international rules based order.

Under these circumstances, we must be clear: Taiwan's security is of international concern.

Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is aligned with the international interest.

Because challenges in the Taiwan Strait are a global concern, a global red line will also be Taiwan's red line and my personal red line.

In Ukraine, President Zelenskiy rose to meet the challenge when Russia invaded.

What did you personally learn from his leadership ?

Democracy is a universal value, irrespective of borders.

President Zelensky rallied his people to resist Russia's invasion.

They are protecting not only their country, their land and their people.

They are also fighting on behalf of our democratic values.

Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has led us to see that dictatorships are inherently unpredictable.

We must make the best preparations for a worst case scenario.

We also see that President Zelensky's courage, as well as the support they sought internationally, all contributed to Ukraine's resistance against the Russian invasion.

We have a deep understanding that we must avoid war in the Taiwan Strait.

There are no winners in war.

Peace is priceless. From the war in Ukraine, we see that we must do all we can to avoid war in the Taiwan Strait.

You've said provocative things in the past that will be of interest in Washington.

How have you changed?

I have been part of President Tsai's National security team.

Together with the US government, we have responsible and clear channels of communication.

We are able to share information, effectively, understand where the issues are and cooperate in resolving them.

This election is about choosing between two roads.

One way is to continue engaging and cooperating closely with the international community while deepening our democracy.

The other choice is to accept the one-China principle and stand together with China.

I believe the US will continue to support us on the first path.

How confident are you that the US will have Taiwan's back, should the situation with China escalate?

The U.S. is a close friend of Taiwan.

We are partners in a number of areas from politics, the economy, human rights to our society.

Because Taiwan's security challenges are a global concern, the upkeep of peace and stability in both the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region fulfills the common interests of the international community.

I believe that all democracies in the world, including the U.S., would be aware of how to respond if such a scenario were to take place.

If the US wants TSMC to build more chip fabs in the US, would you stop it?

The semiconductor industry is not just made up of one or two fabs.

There is an entire ecosystem.

TSMC's Advanced processes are located here in Taiwan.

Their base is here in Taiwan. So if they choose to set up operations in the US or other countries, this is an expansion of Taiwan's economic power.

This is also part of the restructuring of global supply chains.

I would take these developments positively.

What do you want the world to know about you as a person?

I am a rational and steady leader.

I know how we can respond to the challenges we face as a country.

I also understand that the serious and complex nature of issues in the Taiwan Strait call for rational and steady leadership.

This will enable our country to move forward amid changing geopolitical circumstances.