President Tsai Ing-wen said Dec. 1 that Taiwan will continue to augment its self-defense capabilities and cooperate with like-minded partners such as the U.S. and EU to ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and create safer, more resilient supply chains.
Tsai made the remarks while receiving a delegation from Washington-based think tank German Marshall Fund of the U.S. at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
Led by former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd and former member of the Bundestag, Marieluise Beck, the group includes eight other experts, officials, current and former parliamentarians from France, Italy, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.
According to the president, the expansion of authoritarianism continues to pose daunting challenges to democratic systems around the globe, as evidenced by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s continuous military exercises. Members of the free world need to strengthen their alliances to defend freedom and democracy, she added.
Standing on the front line of authoritarian expansion, Taiwan is determined to continue enhancement of its self-defense capabilities, Tsai said. On behalf of the government and people, the president expressed sincere appreciation for the U.S.’ assistance in this regard under the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances.
Tsai said the government is looking forward to expansion of trade and economic ties with the U.S. and European countries through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration framework and a project launched earlier this year to strengthen connectivity with Europe.
In response, Hurd commended Tsai for winning bipartisan consensus that only the 23.5 million people of Taiwan can make decisions on their future.
The diversity of the delegation’s members show that the transatlantic alliance supports Taiwan, he said, adding that the trip will help the GMF determine concrete steps to further partnership with Taiwan. (SFC-E)
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