President Lai meets Global Taiwan Institute media delegation

President Lai meets Global Taiwan Institute media delegation

On the morning of March 31, President Lai Ching-te met with a media delegation from the Global Taiwan Institute (GTI). In remarks, President Lai thanked the delegation members for helping advance understanding and support of democratic Taiwan in the international community. The president also expressed his gratitude for their media coverage, which has helped the international community pay greater attention to regional peace and stability and has helped garner even more international support for Taiwan. He stated that Taiwan is actively bolstering its defense capabilities, implementing military reform, enhancing overall combat capability, and developing its indigenous defense industry, demonstrating its determination to safeguard national security, protect freedom and democracy, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also stated that Taiwan will fulfill its responsibilities in maintaining regional security and that it is willing to collaborate with the United States and other democratic partners to safeguard regional stability, supply chain security, and global prosperity.

A translation of President Lai's remarks follows:

Our guests represent prominent US media outlets and possess significant influence in the global public sphere. I extend a sincere welcome to the delegation and anticipate that your professional reporting will help the world better understand Taiwan. I want to give a word of thanks to the GTI for its many years of diligent efforts and advocacy in Washington, DC, and for helping advance understanding and support of democratic Taiwan in the international community. It warms my heart to see two fellow Taiwanese, Dr. Lanhee J. Chen, GTI Advisory Board member and David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, and GTI Board of Directors Chair Jennifer Hu. I want to thank them for their tireless work in voicing support for Taiwan, which has helped US society have a better grasp of Taiwan's spirit and culture.

Taiwan is a vibrant democratic society. We cherish freedom and safeguard democracy. And we know well that peace must be built upon a foundation of strength, resilience, and unity. Over 90 percent of the world's most advanced semiconductors are manufactured in Taiwan, and over a fifth of maritime trade passes through the Taiwan Strait. As a crucial link in the first island chain in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan firmly believes that a free and open, peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region is the only path to advancing global prosperity.

Over recent years, China has continued to attempt to alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait through such tactics as military intimidation, gray-zone operations, and economic coercion. I thank the international media outlets represented here for their coverage, which has helped the international community pay greater attention to regional peace and stability and has helped garner even more international support for Taiwan.

Peace is priceless, and war has no winners. As we aspire to peace, we must not harbor any delusions. We firmly believe that peace can only be achieved through strength and that help comes most to those who help themselves. Thus, Taiwan is actively bolstering its defense capabilities, implementing military reform, and strengthening whole-of-society defense resilience. Our national defense spending, as it is defined by NATO, has already surpassed 3 percent of GDP this year, and we aim for this figure to reach 5 percent by 2030. Our government has also proposed an eight-year, US$40 billion special defense budget to enhance equipment procurement, construct the T-Dome, enhance overall combat capability, and develop Taiwan's indigenous defense industry. This demonstrates our determination to safeguard our national security, protect freedom and democracy, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

This year is the 30th anniversary of Taiwan's first direct presidential election. It also marks the 250th anniversary of US independence. And while the histories of our democracies may differ in length, our pursuit of freedom is the same. Taiwan will fulfill its responsibilities in maintaining regional security. And we are willing to collaborate with the US and other democratic partners to safeguard regional stability, supply chain security, and global prosperity.

In 2010, 83.8 percent of Taiwan's outbound investment went to China; last year, that figure had dropped to around 3.7 percent. The US is now Taiwan's top outbound investment destination. It is also Taiwan's largest export market. Trade and economic relations between Taiwan and the US continue to deepen, and cooperation and exchanges in technological innovation and industrial development have also expanded. This year, we signed the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and an agreement on bilateral investment. We also signed the Joint Statement on the Pax Silica Declaration and Taiwan-US Economic Security Cooperation. I anticipate that through our joint efforts, we can create a mutually beneficial future of prosperity and contribute even more to the world.

GTI Advisory Board Member Chen then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for taking the time to meet with their delegation. He also thanked National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Baushuan Ger (葛葆萱) for their hospitality. He mentioned that it is an honor for the group to be here in Taiwan. He said that he often reflects on the many changes that Taiwan has been through in the 40 years since he first came back as a young child, noting that it is remarkable to see that the one thing that has endured is the strength of the relationship between the US and Taiwan, which remains rock solid.

GTI Advisory Board Member Chen stated that he is chairing this delegation, a group composed of some of America's most prominent voices in journalism and political commentary. He emphasized that it is important for his colleagues to see Taiwan firsthand, to experience life and culture, to meet individuals here, and to engage in exchanges because it better informs their understanding of the situation that Taiwan currently finds itself in. Noting that this is the first time in Taiwan for many of these people, he expressed hope they will have an opportunity to leave with good memories of the people that they meet and the food that they eat.

GTI Advisory Board Member Chen said that this visit comes at a very important time in the Taiwan-US relationship, adding that it is his firm hope that after the delegation leaves Taiwan, they will continue to remember and be mindful of the tremendous challenges that Taiwan faces from what he believes is a hostile power just 80 miles away. He also expressed his belief that the impressions and the relationships developed will remain. He then said he looks forward to a wonderful dialogue with President Lai.