Former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen yesterday said that his visit to Taiwan was a show of “strong support” for the nation’s self-determination, freedom and democracy.
Speaking during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Rasmussen said he was “in Taiwan to show my strong support for your rights to decide the future of Taiwan yourselves.”
“I am here to show my strong support for your rights to exist in freedom and peace,” he added.
Photo: CNA
Rasmussen was speaking in his capacity as the founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, a Denmark-based organization seeking to advance democracy and free markets worldwide.
The foundation, which invited Tsai to address its annual democracy summit for three consecutive years from 2020, was sanctioned by Beijing in 2021.
The former Danish prime minister, who was secretary-general of NATO from 2009 to 2014, arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a three-day trip that is to conclude today.
The world’s democracies represent 60 percent of the global economy and if they work together, they could be “a formidable force that will create respect in Beijing and other capitals of autocratic nations,” he said. “We need to strengthen our fight against — or our attempts to counter — the advancing autocracies.”
“Taiwan is a solid democracy belonging to the family of the world’s democracies,” he said, adding that he looked forward to discussing with Tsai how to “further strengthen the bonds between Taiwan and Europe.”
Tsai said that Taiwan would continue to boost its national defense in response to the challenges posed by authoritarian expansionism, while seeking to increase cooperation with democratic allies to contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The government’s plans to extend compulsory military service to one year from four months and roll out reforms to intensify military training were part of efforts to bolster the nation’s defense capability, she said.
Since Rasmussen last visited Taiwan in 1994, the nation has transformed into a vibrant democracy with a prosperous economy and resilient civil society, Tsai said.
Her administration is happy to see Rasmussen bear witness to the long strides the nation has made, and the deep faith Taiwanese have in freedom and democratic values, she said.
Taiwan is one of many successful democracies with an authoritarian past and therefore appreciates its hard-won freedoms as something that should not be taken for granted, she added.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS