Dr. Ming-Yen Tsai
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
December 16, 2022
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Ladies and gentlemen:
Dzień dobry, witam!
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all. I also express my sincere appreciation to Ms. Fotyga for coming to Taiwan before traveling to South Korea. Your presence here not only demonstrates your unwavering support for Taiwan but also shows that we are united in solidarity. Our shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights form the foundation on which we cooperate closely today.
I have many fond memories of my meetings with Ms. Fotyga when I served as Taiwan's Ambassador to the EU for over two years. Ms. Fotyga has been a firm friend and a source of inspiration to me on how to bring Taiwan and the EU even closer together.
Over the years, Ms. Fotyga and her team have been at the forefront of building support for Taiwan in the European Parliament. Through your speeches in plenary sessions, contributions to committee meetings, and backing of significant pro-Taiwan reports, you have demonstrated your commitment to democratic Taiwan at every possible opportunity. The report on EU-Taiwan political relations and cooperation adopted by the European Parliament in October last year marked a new milestone in Taiwan's relationship with the European Union and serves as an important and robust base for further cooperation.
With authoritarian regimes attempting to expand their influence and reshape the rules-based international order to meet their needs, unity and cooperation among democratic countries are more important than ever. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan has been working closely with our like-minded partners, including Poland and the European Union, to deliver humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people. We have helped to build temporary shelters and provide food and other supplies for refugees. Considering the severe winter ahead of us, we recently signed an MOU to donate 1 million US dollars to the city of Kyiv to purchase electricity generators. To continue our efforts next year, MOFA has drafted a budget of 56 million US dollars, pending legislative approval, to be used in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's saber-rattling in the Indo-Pacific show a strong convergence of authoritarian strategies, which poses an unprecedented threat to our shared values and the rules-based international order. Standing on the front lines against authoritarian expansion, Taiwan and the EU both play critical roles in defending freedom and democracy. I am confident that by working together and remaining united, we can continue to safeguard the liberal democratic world order, promote peace and stability, protect our way of life, and defend the values that we deeply cherish.
In closing, I would like to once again extend a warm welcome to our distinguished guests. Please allow me to propose a toast: to democracy, to freedom, and to the enduring friendship between Taiwan and the EU.