President Lai Ching-te attended an event marking the International Holocaust Remembrance Day April 23 in Taipei City, reiterating Taiwan’s commitment to working with global partners to safeguard democracy, human rights, peace and stability for future generations.
The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, German Institute Taipei and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. Those in attendance included Deputy Foreign Minister François Chihchung Wu, ISECO Rep. Maya Yaron, GIT Deputy Director General Andreas Hofem and Knesset Taiwan friendship group Chair Boaz Toporovsky.
The president thanked the organizers for holding the event, and the participants for gathering to remember the victims and pay respects to the survivors of one of the darkest chapters in human history.
According to Lai, the Taiwan Holocaust Museum established by Che Chu Chien Church 23 years ago in the southern city of Tainan is the first in Taiwan and second in Asia dedicated to the historic tragedy. Its mission is to urge people to forget hatred and love one another, put an end to war and advocate peace.
Many artifacts on display at the museum come from the Jewish people and serve as a connection between Taiwan and Israel. They also remind people to treasure hard-earned peace, he added.
The president said the International Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a reminder of the threat that hatred, prejudice and extremism pose to humanity. Conscience, justice, democracy and respect for human rights, Lai said, are qualities and values that can resist violence and dictatorship.
The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is marked this year, Lai said, but authoritarian regimes are resurging and waging war in many parts of the world, threatening global prosperity. There are no winners in a war, the president added, thus Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with democratic partners to ensure regional and global peace and stability. (SFC-E)
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