Jaushieh Joseph Wu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
October 7, 2022
(As prepared for delivery)
Good evening.
It is a great pleasure to host the Yushan Forum dinner tonight. On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I would like to warmly welcome you all and extend my gratitude to the keynote speakers and panelists for your enthusiastic participation. Today's event would not have been a success without your inspiring remarks and keen insights.
I would also like to thank Chairman Hsiao and the staff at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation. The Yushan Forum has established a reputation as a place where prominent leaders and experts from like-minded countries can exchange views and best practices on global challenges. It is helping us build a better world.
Tonight, we are very delighted to have not one, but two guest speakers. The first speaker is Mr. Peter MacKay. The second is Mr. Yasuhide Nakayama, who joins us online. Let me briefly introduce both speakers.
Mr. MacKay is a well-respected Canadian statesman. He has served as Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. He has also been Deputy Leader of the combined Conservative Party led by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who attended this event in 2019. Mr. MacKay served in the Harper government as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defense, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
While Minister of National Defense, Mr. MacKay, along with US Senator John McCain and other leaders, established the Halifax International Security Forum in 2009. The forum is recognized as the world's foremost security conference for democracies.
President Tsai Ing-wen was awarded the Forum's 2020 John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service for safeguarding Taiwan's freedom and democracy and bolstering the global response to COVID-19. I had the privilege of speaking at the Forum that year. Let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. MacKay for his vision and leadership in strengthening strategic cooperation among democracies.
Last year, Mr. MacKay coauthored an op-ed piece with our Representative to Canada that ran in the National Post titled, “The democratic world must stand together against Chinese aggression.” The title says it all. Thank you very much, sir, for your strong support of Taiwan.
I was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last month. The title of the segment was “The Expansion of Chinese Authoritarianism.” It echoed the views made in Mr. MacKay's op-ed. I pointed out that China's aggression toward Taiwan is only one part of its overall strategy. China is expanding both its influence as well as authoritarianism.
Our second speaker, Mr. Nakayama, is a staunch supporter of Taiwan. He once publicly declared that Japan and Taiwan are not just friends, but family members. He said the fates of Japan and Taiwan are intertwined and that, geographically, we are as close as nose and lips. His father was once a member of Japan's Diet. He was one of five members who stood resolutely to the end opposing Japan's establishment of diplomatic ties with the PRC in 1972. Like father, like son. For that, we salute Mr. Nakayama.
Mr. Nakayama served as Deputy Foreign Minister and Deputy Defense Minister of Japan. His career thus mirrors that of Mr. MacKay. Mr. Nakayama has been an active member of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council. In August 2020, he came to Taiwan with former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to express condolences on the passing of President Lee Teng-hui. We appreciate his friendship and brotherhood. Let me take this opportunity to express our condolences on the death of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. We deeply miss him and remember his contributions to Taiwan-Japan relations.
As Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, I would like to say that maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait is our long-standing, consistent policy. It is the key to regional peace and stability and is in the best interests of all parties concerned. The strong support of like-minded countries and the international community as a whole is crucial to deterring China from invading Taiwan. US President Joe Biden once again expressed determination to defend Taiwan in a recent interview. We sincerely appreciate the rock-solid US security commitment to Taiwan.
We are grateful that an increasing number of leaders and parliamentarians are visiting Taiwan. This shows solidarity in the face of great pressure from China. We are encouraged by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee's passing the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 bill, and by a recent pro-Taiwan resolution of the European Parliament. These actions boost Taiwan's already strong ties with the United States and European Union. We hope that other democracies will also stand with Taiwan against authoritarianism.
We have much to learn from Mr. MacKay and Mr. Nakayama and hope we can work closely together to defend our shared values and common interests. And now, please join me in welcoming Mr. MacKay to the stage.