Taiwan’s resilience will help the country overcome the challenges of the global trade crisis created by the White House’s tariff policies, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Saturday in a speech at her alma mater, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The global community is experiencing a “new geopolitical landscape that can be defined by the uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding the existing trade and security orders,” Tsai said at the university where she was awarded a doctorate in law in 1984.
“The trade conflicts we are seeing now are challenging the decades-old international trade rules and order,” she said.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public via CNA
Although Taiwan, which largely depends on international trade, is also vulnerable to shifts in the global trade system, it has withstood numerous global crises over the past decades, as it was able to “transform adversity into opportunity” during such challenges.
“The reason that Taiwan could weather each global trade crisis was because Taiwan never retreated into protectionism. Instead, Taiwan reinforced its economic fundamentals and enhanced industrial competitiveness,” she said.
Taiwan’s positive attitude toward challenges enabled it to form a strategy to go beyond China’s “red supply chain” competition, Tsai said.
Taiwan maintained its competitiveness by becoming an “indispensable provider of key components in global supply chains” through the strategy of “hidden champions,” she said.
“In other words, Taiwanese companies strive to be the best partner in certain niche markets, through providing the best quality products with the most reliable services in the global supply chain,” Tsai said.
“Taiwan’s experience through different adjustment periods of the world trading system gave us added confidence in facing the current US administration’s tariff-driven efforts to reduce the trade deficit,” she added.
Tsai said she is confident that the current administration in Taipei would do its best to engage the US in dialogue and support its industries to adjust accordingly so that Taiwan can remain competitive and continue to contribute to the global trading system.
Aside from international trade challenges, Taiwan and democracies around the world are also facing security challenges, she said.
“What this means is that we will have to be even more aware of and responsive to the attempts that seek to weaken our democracies and destabilize our societies. This will require that we all enhance and bolster our resilience,” she said.
Tsai also discussed her memories of attending the prestigious university.
“At LSE, I met students and faculty from all over the world and from different fields of study. I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity and the academic environment here, where discussions of issues relating to our respective countries and the world are strongly encouraged,” she said.
Her years at LSE helped her master English and hone her communication skills, as well as enhance her critical thinking, she said, adding that most importantly, she learned to listen to people with whom she disagreed.
“My experience at LSE made me the kind of trade negotiator I was, and it prepared me for my career in academia, and above all, in politics,” she said.
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