President William Lai (賴清德) discussed Taiwan’s position and strategies to strengthen the global defense of democracy, economic security and supply chain resilience in a video address to be shown at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York.
The speech, titled “Better Together for a Safer World — Taiwan’s Role in the Age of Uncertainty,” focuses on Lai’s touchstone policies, including values-based diplomacy, whole-of-society defense resilience and supply chain resilience, the Presidential Office said.
The speech is to be streamed at the event at 9am Taipei time today.
Photo: Screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Web site
Lai began his speech by saying that Aug. 15 marked 80 years since the end of World War II, a conflict that taught the world “aggression fails, unity prevails.”
“Taiwan stands on the front line of the first island chain in the Indo-Pacific and directly faces the threat of authoritarianism,” he said, describing the global landscape as “volatile.”
“Taiwan has long faced military intimidation, information warfare and other compound threats from China,” he said. “Democratic partnerships [are] the sole path to maintaining lasting peace, and building a stable and prosperous world.”
“Taiwan will continue to be a pilot for world peace and a force for global prosperity,” he added.
Lai outlined three key strategies under his administration.
First, values-based diplomacy would allow Taiwan to work closely with like-minded countries on the foundation of respect for human rights and rule of law, he said.
Despite its exclusion from the UN, Taiwan has consistently proven that it is a reliable global partner under the slogan “Taiwan Can Help,” Lai said.
Second, Taiwan would continue to bolster supply chain resilience as a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, leveraging advantages in chip manufacturing and end-to-end industrial clusters, he said.
Third, Taiwan has been working to enhance its national defense capabilities through his whole-of-society defense and resilience initiative, and plans to achieve defense spending of 3 percent of GDP by next year and 5 percent by 2030, to align with NATO standards, Lai said.
Taiwan is “advancing cybersecurity, combating disinformation and enhancing our citizens’ media literacy,” he added.
“We firmly believe that there is strength in unity, and that we can achieve a bright future only by working together,” Lai said in his concluding remarks.
The New York-based non-profit organization Concordia hosts the “largest and most inclusive nonpartisan forum alongside the UN General Assembly,” discussing topics such as global economy and trade, democracy, security, and geopolitical risks, according to program information.
Additional reporting by CNA
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