President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday at the Third Copenhagen Democracy Summit said it was the responsibility of democracies to help the rest of the world become free.
“Those privileged to live in a democracy must never rest until the entire world can share in the birthright that is freedom,” Tsai said in her eight-minute video at the summit, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tsai said that Taiwan stands on the front line of the global community of democracies, and it looks forward to forging closer cooperation with like-minded democracies.
She also discussed Hong Kong, saying that Taiwan would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the territory, which is due to mark the 23rd anniversary of its handover to China.
The territory is facing growing concerns that its autonomy and freedoms would erode under national security legislation, which the Chinese government drafted last month and is expected to implement in the coming months, she said.
“In particular, our thoughts today are with the people of Hong Kong. Taiwan has joined the international community in urging the Beijing authorities to honor their obligation to respect Hong Kong’s fundamental freedoms,” Tsai said.
Tsai also addressed Taiwan’s success in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said that the nation was fortunate to have been better prepared than most in dealing with the coronavirus crisis.
“We learned important lessons from the SARS outbreak in 2003 so that we would never be caught off guard again,” she said.
With the right measures, “it is possible to control the spread of the virus without sacrificing our most important democratic principles,” she added.
Tsai said she was disappointed that the WHO “put politics before health” when it did not invite Taiwan to share its experience at this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA).
“Nevertheless, we stand ready to support any country that needs our help,” Tsai said
Taiwan has so far donated essential medical supplies to more than 80 countries, including more than 52 million masks, she said.
“For Taiwan, offering help has never been a question of quid pro quo. It is simply what friends do in times of need,” she added.
The event, held on Thursday and Friday, also included speeches from US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and former US secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, who spoke by videoconference or through prerecorded videos.
The summit was organized by the Alliance of Democracies, a non-governmental organization established in 2017 by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is a former Danish prime minister and NATO secretary-general.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight