Taiwan’s democracy is determined to survive and thrive, despite facing serious threats from China, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said at an annual democracy summit in Denmark last week.
In a speech at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Thursday, Wu first thanked chief organizer Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary-general and former Danish prime minister, for inviting him to speak.
This was the first time a Taiwanese foreign minister had received an invitation to attend the annual forum, Wu said.
He said that Taiwan’s relatively young democracy is under constant military threat from an authoritarian regime that continues to squeeze the nation’s international space, referring to Beijing.
Taiwan continues to speak up about the deterioration of human rights and religious freedom in China and supports the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, he said.
“Even though our democracy is under threat, we will not give up our democracy and democratic way of life. In fact, we are determined to make Taiwan’s democracy a beacon for those who long for freedom, democracy and the protection of human rights,” he said. “Taiwan is under threat, but we are determined to survive and thrive, to prove that democracy is a better path for mankind.”
As a country standing on the frontline defending democracy, Wu said that Taiwan would hold firm and succeed “so that people in Hong Kong and beyond can still see the beacon light of hope.”
Wu’s speech was made on the first day of the two-day summit.
The inaugural Copenhagen Democracy Summit took place in July last year. It brings together political and business leaders, including current and former heads of government from the world’s democracies.
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