TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan faces an increasingly difficult position as China pressures the democratic island to accept conditions that would turn it into the next Hong Kong, its top diplomat told visiting U.S.

Azar’s trip to Taiwan has also coincided with a further crackdown in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, where on Monday police arrested media tycoon Jimmy Lai under a tough new national security law.

“Our life has become increasingly difficult as China continues to pressure Taiwan into accepting its political conditions, conditions that will turn Taiwan into the next Hong Kong,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said at a joint media appearance with Azar in Taipei.

Azar is in Taiwan to offer not just the administration’s support for its democracy, but to learn about its successful fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Azar said the world should recognise Taiwan’s health accomplishments, pointing to Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization (WHO) due to Chinese objections, which considers Taiwan merely a wayward province.