We are not afraid. After years of constant threats by Beijing, Taiwan’s people do not panic easily.

But we also cannot stand alone. Ms. Pelosi’s visit was a welcome expression of U.S. solidarity with Taiwan and I, for one, am deeply grateful to her for shrugging off Beijing’s threats of retaliation. But other democracies must also summon the courage to stand with us.

Taiwan is critical to the entire democratic project. We are a vibrant democracy, the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and one of the first to elect a female leader — our current president Tsai Ing-wen — who won office in her own right without the aid of family political connections. We are a successful economy, with some of the highest living standards in Asia and a center of the global semiconductor industry. We have maintained one of the world’s lowest Covid death rates without resorting to the harsh lockdowns imposed by China.

If Taiwan were brought to heel by China, the world would lose a shining example of democracy and the liberal international economic order at a time when the authoritarian tentacles of the likes of Russia and China are expanding.