Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) yesterday underscored the importance of combat readiness to deter a potential war and safeguard Taiwan’s democracy.
Taiwanese have shown resilience in helping the country break out from the rigid COVID-19 restrictions over the past three years, You said at the Double Ten National Day ceremony in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.
However, Taiwan still needs to ready itself for the possibility of war given the growing threat from China, especially as democracy has come under attack around the world, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel, he said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-ling, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s democracy is not a gift from heaven, but rather the result of a century of sacrifices by revolutionary martyrs, while its democratic advances — including three transfers of power — have been widely recognized internationally, he said.
These include CNN’s description of Taiwan as a “bright spot” for democracy in the world and the Economist Intelligence Unit calling Taiwan “Asia’s beacon of democracy,” he said.
Safeguarding Taiwan is not only a mission of its people, but the common desire of all democratic nations, and the will of Taiwan’s people is the country’s best defense, You said.
At the same time, countries around the world have backed Taiwan’s democracy, and its international identity has become clearer, helped for example by the Taiwan International Solidarity Act that the US House of Representatives passed in July, he said.
The measure has yet to become law, as it awaits passage in the US Senate.
You said the bill, aimed at countering efforts by China to exclude Taiwan from participating in international organizations, states that while UN Resolution 2758 recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government of China, it does not apply to Taiwan.
The resolution does not address the issue of representation of Taiwan and its people in the UN or any affiliated organizations, You said, adding that the bill could counter China’s long-term distortion of the resolution’s meaning.
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