Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu said Taiwan plays a key role in the global fight against authoritarianism and called on fellow democracies to say no to China’s unilateral attempt to change the cross-strait status quo.
The minister made the remarks during a recent interview in Taipei City with Kai Strittmatter for an article published Oct. 20 in the paper and online editions of the Munich-based daily Suddeutsche Zeitung.
According to the minister, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made it clear to countries around the world that the ambitions of an authoritarian regime can lead to war. If the global community continues to adopt a policy of appeasement, the same situation could occur in the Indo-Pacific, he said.
Wu said China is the biggest challenge to global society as it is willing and able to change the rules-based international order. This is evidenced by Beijing’s success in interfering with the operations of the United Nations and its affiliated organizations, as well as China's increasing influence in Africa, he added.
China is ramping up military threats, economic coercion and cognitive warfare against Taiwan in an attempt to destroy the country’s democracy, divide society and turn the public against the government, Wu said. He added that China’s plans do not stop with Taiwan.
The minister stressed the importance of the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, as 50 percent of the world’s cargo passes through the waterway. With 90 percent of advanced semiconductor chips around the globe supplied by Taiwan, a war in the region would disrupt the global supply chains and leave no one immune to the fallout, he said, urging countries around the world to send a strong message to China in order to deter its aggression. (SFC-E)
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