A federal-funded international security forum has announced the Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen the winner of its flagship prize, despite pressure from both the Canadian and Chinese government. The Halifax International Security Forum awarded the 2020 John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service to Tsai, calling her “champion of freedom” in a video released on Monday. Tsai was elected as the first female President of Taiwan in 2016 and was reelected last year with a record vote, promising in her campaign to defend the democracy of the island country against threats from neighboring China. Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has considered Taiwan a breakaway province after it came out triumphant in a civil war over 70 years ago. The CCP has toned up its threats of using force to take over Taiwan over the year, repeatedly sending military aircraft into the island’s periphery. In a Facebook statement, Tsai stated that …