Representative to the US Alexander Yui was invited by US Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, to listen to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s address to the US Congress on Friday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington said.
Before Kishida’s address, Yui visited McCaul and discussed how to promote Taiwan-US cooperation in several fields, TECRO said.
“A pleasure to meet with Ambassador Yui of Taiwan, my guest to @JPN_PMO’s [Kishida] address to Congress today. We discussed additional ways in which the U.S. can support our partner Taiwan and promote greater cooperation and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” McCaul wrote on X.
Photo: Screen grab from US Representative Michael McCaul’s X account
Yui responded on X, saying: “Thank you Chairman @RepMcCaul for the kind invitation. I look forward to continue working with you to promote our shared values and common interests in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Kishida’s address at a joint meeting of the US Congress on Friday was titled “For the Future: Our Global Partnership.”
“As the geopolitical landscape changed and as Japan grew in confidence, we expanded our outlook beyond that of being America’s closest ally. We first became a regional partner of the United States, and now we have become your global partner,” Kishida said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He said freedom and democracy are under threat around the globe.
“China’s current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge, not only to the peace and security of Japan but to the peace and stability of the international community at large.”
“Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow,” he added.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In other news, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada, the US embassy in Ottawa and the University of Ottawa’s Information Integrity Lab on Friday held a Global Cooperation and Training Framework event titled “Building Democratic Resiliency Against Disinformation: Elections in Taiwan and Beyond” in the capital of Canada.
Opening remarks were given by Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen and Australian High Commissioner to Canada Scott Ryan.
Tseng said that Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy includes countering disinformation as a core issue, and facing complicated cognitive warfare tactics, Taiwan is ready to contribute to defending freedom and democracy with its democratic allies.
Cohen affirmed Taiwan’s achievements in countering disinformation, and quoted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who once said that “Taiwan is a powerful affirmation of democracy.”
The US is committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability and the peaceful resolution of differences without coercion and pressure, Cohen said, adding that Taiwan-US partnership is based on shared democratic values.
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