Taiwan is a front-line state defending freedom, democracy and rules-based order from China’s intensified coercion and cannot fall, Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu said in a video address at the Global Taiwan Institute Annual Symposium Sept. 13 in Washington.
China’s actions are a threat to security and the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, Wu said. It has no qualms in using economic leverage to impose political views on foreign citizens, governments and private companies, he added.
The first point of contact in China’s campaign is Taiwan, Wu said, adding that if it is allowed to continue pushing the country around, there will be severe consequences for shared values and the global system that fostered post-World War II prosperity.
“Let’s tell it like it is: There is no ‘Taiwan problem,’” Wu said. “There’s only a ‘China problem’” involving its coercion of Taiwan in the diplomatic, economic, military and political realms.
Wu’s remarks were well-received by participants in the daylong event on Taiwan-U.S. relations. Attendees included Christine Hsueh, deputy head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.; James F. Moriarty, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan; Shelly Rigger, assistant dean for educational policy in the Political Science Department of Davidson College; and Stephen M. Young, former director of the AIT.
According to Wu, Taiwan is willing and able to work with like-minded countries in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific as set down under the regional strategy of U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
Taiwan has much to offer in terms of trade, investment and economic expertise, as well as capacity-building for democratic institutions and a civil society, Wu said. It is ready to cooperate with its partners in promoting a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific through the government’s New Southbound Policy.
The NSP is enhancing Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. It is seen as the country’s most effective policy platform for engaging with the Indo-Pacific while promoting peace, stability and prosperity.
To this end, Wu said Taiwan will strive to participate in regional initiatives as they unfold and maintain close security ties as reaffirmed in the Trump Administration’s first National Security Strategy.
Wu highlighted the special bond between Taipei and Washington, citing several examples such as next year’s 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, the opening in June of the new AIT complex in Taipei and the inclusion of Taiwan in the U.S. Global Entry program. He also said a free trade agreement between Taiwan and the U.S. makes economic and strategic sense, and would open the door for an array of new opportunities for both sides.
GTI, established in 2016 in the U.S. capital, is a think tank aiming to promote greater understanding of Taiwan and its people through targeted policy research and engagement programs. (SFC-E)
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