Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the determination to defend democracy and freedom, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a forum in Prague yesterday, calling on democratic countries to unite against authoritarianism.
Wu made the remarks at a forum cohosted by the Czech Academy of Sciences and Czech think tank Sinopsis titled “Towards a productive relationship: Engaging with Taiwan in multiple domains.”
“As a former political scientist studying democratization, I have always wanted to visit late [Czech] president Vaclav Havel’s motherland,” Wu is cited as saying in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Photo courtesy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
“The pursuit of freedom and democracy has always been the most important reason that our two countries are closely connected,” he said.
The combination of new technologies and social media has empowered people around the world to voice their views, but at the same time, democracy’s enemies have become increasingly bold and outspoken, Wu said.
“Our democratic accomplishments … need to be underpinned by determination and principles. This is especially true in times when authoritarianism continuously seeks to undermine the values and institutions that we all cherish,” he said.
When democracies are threatened around the world, “we need to work with and support each other. United we stand, divided we fall,” he said.
Taiwan is willing to share its valuable experiences in economic and technological developments with like-minded countries around the world and serve as “a force for good” against authoritarianism, Wu said.
Wu is part of a delegation to Europe that has since Sunday been visiting Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Wu is invited to a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international group of lawmakers, in Rome tomorrow, which he might attend via videoconference due to the visit’s tight schedule, the ministry said.
The ministry did not confirm media reports that Wu would also visit Poland and Brussels.
Moreover, a 66-person trade and investment delegation is visiting Lithuania, after leaving the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
Taiwan and Lithuania have agreed to establish representative offices in each other’s capitals, despite pressure from the Chinese government.
Lithuania’s representative office is expected to open at the beginning of next year, Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite said.
A Taiwanese firm might open a semiconductor factory in Lithuania, she said.
During a bilateral trade and investment forum yesterday, Taiwan and Lithuania signed six memorandums of understanding in life sciences, information and communications technology, financial technology, electric vehicles, laser technology, semiconductors and food processing.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS