On March 17, 2026, President Lai Ching-te of the Republic of China welcomed former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa to Taiwan. During the meeting, Lai said Taiwan would remain a force for good and continue to contribute to the resilience of democracy worldwide.

But it was Lech Wałęsa’s remarks at the Yushan Forum in Taipei that drew particular attention.

Now in his eighties and widely regarded as one of the key figures in Poland’s democratic transformation, Lech Wałęsa did not speak in the cautious language often used when Taiwan and China are discussed. Instead, he offered a striking reversal of Beijing’s preferred narrative. Rather than suggesting that Taiwan must make concessions to avoid pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he argued that Taiwan’s political and social model offers it something valuable to the wider Chinese-speaking world.

A voice shaped by history

Lech Wałęsa’s words carried weight because of his own history.

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