Former Munich Security Conference chairman Christoph Heusgen yesterday urged global democracies to stand united to preserve the rules-based international order, given the challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to Taiwan and the world.
The PRC, Taiwan’s large neighbor, "is a challenge" as it repeatedly shows no respect for the rules-based international order, Heusgen said in an address delivered at a dinner during the annual Yushan Forum.
The PRC’s suppression of the Muslim minority of Uighurs and the minority in Tibet, and its constant coercion against Taiwan and Japan — including threats to use force — are clear contraventions of the charter of the UN, he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
"I would say all countries that share these democratic values and human rights, and that subscribe to the rules-based order, have to stick together," said Heusgen, who served as Germany’s ambassador to the UN from 2017 to 2021.
"And when we stick together, we will win this and preserve it for future generations," he said.
Jan Lipavsky, Czech minister of foreign affairs from 2021 to 2025, said at the same dinner that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing for four years, while the war in the Middle East has continued to escalate since late 2023.
Amid these conflicts, the world is witnessing that technology "is changing the nature of power at an extraordinary speed, with artificial intelligence, cybercapabilities, autonomous systems and mass-produced drones," Lipavsky said.
Economic security and technological resilience have become inseparable from national security, which explains "precisely why Taiwan matters," he said.
"Taiwan is not only a regional actor. It is a leading technological power, a key node in global supply chains, and a vibrant democracy," Lipavsky said.
Using his country as an example, Lipavsky said that the Czech Republic and Taiwan are already cooperating in areas such as semiconductor research, cybersecurity, and democratic resilience to meet security challenges.
"This is also why forums like the Yushan Forum are so important. They bring together partners who understand that security today is built not only through military alliances, but also through cooperation in technology, industry, innovation and democratic resilience," he said.
Heusgen and Lipavsky were invited to attend this year’s two-day edition of the Yushan Forum, which opened yesterday.
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