The high-level “Mingteh Project” (明德專案) national security meeting between US, Japanese and Taiwanese officials should be resumed, as the rise of China threatens neighboring countries, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said at a meeting with a Japanese delegation in Taipei on Wednesday.
Ko, along with TPP legislators Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) and Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城), TPP International Affairs Advisor Hsieh Ming-chu (謝明珠) and Commissioner of the Taipei Mayor’s Office for External Affairs Tom Chou (周台竹), met with Japan’s “cross-party lawmakers’ group to promote human rights diplomacy” and discussed issues such as foreign and military policies, Taiwan’s sub-replacement fertility rate, Huang’s visit to the US last month and Wu’s initiative to include the “strong generation” in the workforce, the TPP said in a press release yesterday.
As the rise of China is pressuring its neighbors, the US, Japan and Taiwan should resume the high-level trilateral national security meeting of the “Mingteh Project” — which was established under then-president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) administration — to help deter and communicate with China, Ko said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan People’s Party
Strong military power is necessary to defend national sovereignty, but communication is vital to reduce the possibilities of misjudgment and conflict, he added.
Ko highlighted how Taiwan and Japan have strong ties because of their geographic proximity, history and cultures, and shared democratic values, as reflected in the amicable relationship between the people of the two nations.
For example, Taiwan offered prompt assistance after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, while Japan donated more than 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan during the peak of the pandemic, he said, citing a survey that suggested both people in Taiwan and Japan perceive each other with a level of satisfaction higher than 60 percent.
Taiwan and Japan support each other in times of hardship and share one of the closest bilateral relations, Ko said.
On the other hand, the “two-plus-two” ministerial meeting held on Sunday in Tokyo, which involved both the foreign and defense ministers of the US and Japan, reiterated the importance of cross-strait security, he said.
Meanwhile, the TPP press release said Huang met with a number of politicians during her trip to the US last week that included visits to think tanks.
Huang was quoted as saying the US Congress showed firm bipartisan support for Taiwan, and that the US government’s attitude toward Taiwan would not change much whether the Republican or the Democrat candidate takes office after the November presidential election.
Huang also highlighted the importance of initiating friendly dialogue with China in addition to buttressing national defense, saying that Taiwan could contribute significantly to the world’s peace and prosperity simply by enhancing its self-defense capabilities.
Meanwhile, regarding the issue of sub-replacement fertility rate in Taiwan, which would soon lead to a labor shortage, Ko said it is due to a cultural change where young people no longer believe it is necessary to start a family, as well as low salaries and soaring housing prices that make them unwilling to have children.
Therefore, the inclusion of the “strong generation” — those who are aged 65 or older — into the workforce is crucial to improve the foreseeable labor shortage, he said.
Wu added that outdated employment restrictions should be lifted to tap into the labor force and purchasing power of the strong generation, as most people aged 65 or older today are healthy enough to continue to work.
The government should not force the elderly to retire, and work places should embrace their participation, he said.
When asked by the Japanese delegates about the TPP’s vision of Taiwan as a nation, Ko said he hopes for Taiwan to become a “normalized” nation with a credible government, judicial justice, law-abiding citizens and dedicated public servants.
After the meeting, Ko used the TPP’s fifth-anniversary memorial beer to drink a toast with the guests for the friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
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