Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in Canada on Thursday urged Taiwanese compatriots in the North American country to continue to work for Taiwan by supporting its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Speaking at a luncheon organized by Taiwanese compatriots in Toronto, Tsai spoke of her gratitude for their contribution to Taiwan during her time in office.
“I am here to say thank you to all of you in person. I am grateful for your support of the government during the eight years I was in office [2016 to last year] and your efforts in Canada to boost the visibility of Taiwan in the world,” she said.
Photo: Screen grab from Tsai Ing-wen’s Facebook page
“Now, I encourage you to continue to stay busy, to work for Taiwan to push for Taiwan’s bid to participate in the CPTPP, as Canada plays an important role [in the success of Taiwan’s bid],” she added.
The CPTPP, which evolved from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the US left in January 2017, is one of the world’s biggest trade blocs. It represents a market of 500 million people and accounts for 13.5 percent of global trade.
Its 11 signatories are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The UK applied to join the CPTPP in 2021 and formally signed the accession protocol on July 16 last year. The British government expects the agreement to enter into force by Dec. 15.
According to the CPTPP’s Auckland Principles, the group is open to accession by any economy that is willing and able to meet the CPTPP’s high standards, has a demonstrated history of compliance with existing trade commitments and can achieve the consensus of CPTPP members.
Taiwan is the 21st-largest economy in the world and has played a critical role in global supply chains so “Taiwan’s participation in the CPTPP is expected to allow Taipei to work with more partners to boost prosperity in the region, Tsai said.
“Taiwan is well prepared to join the CPTPP, as it has amended domestic legislation to meet the high standards [set by the trade bloc],” she added.
Tsai, who was invited to visit Canada to deliver a keynote speech at the annual summit of the Halifax International Security Forum in the provincial capital of Nova Scotia, is the first former Taiwanese president to meet with Taiwanese compatriots in the North American country in person.
In the past, presidents addressed similar events organized by Taiwanese compatriots in Canada, but only through a pre-recorded video. Tsai’s attendance at the Toronto activity was described by Huang Huang-yu (黃煌裕), a member of the Overseas Community Affairs Council, as a historic visit.
Taiwan’s contribution to the world has been highly recognized so its ties with Canada have been improving significantly, she said.
Taiwanese compatriots in Canada have acted in unison and been an important voice in supporting Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, by touting Taiwan’s achievement in public health, she added.
These Taiwanese compatriots have worked with several Canadian parliamentarians to organize forums for the advocacy for Taiwan’s participation in the UN and the CPTPP.
“I believe these efforts are helping Taiwan move forward further in a stable manner,” Tsai said.
Before attending the luncheon, Tsai also visited Maeli Market, a supermarket owned by Kuo Hua Trading Co, Canada’s largest importer of food from Taiwan.
Ethnic Chinese and Taiwanese customers account for 70 percent of the store’s total patrons, Maeli Market said.
Many customers who had never visited Taiwan expressed a willingness to do so after patronizing the supermarket as the store conveys Taiwan’s unique sensibilities and cultures, it added.
Tsai was scheduled to address the Halifax summit early this morning Taipei time.
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