WMD Global Assembly participants met by President Tsai

2022/10/26

President Tsai Ing-wen met with a joint delegation to the 11th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy Oct. 24 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City, highlighting the government’s commitment to promoting unity and cooperation among like-minded partners to strengthen global democratic development.
 
Co-hosted by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy, the three-day event kicked off Oct. 25 and gathered over 200 democracy advocates from 70 countries, including representatives from Ukraine. High-profile attendents include NED Chairman Kenneth Wollack and President Damon Wilson, as well as 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.
 
Democratic development around the world faces severe challenges due to authoritarianism expansion, Tsai said. Only when democracies stand together can they effectively counter threats imposed through means of economic, cyber and cognitive warfare, she added.
 
Taiwan is strengthening its national defense capabilities and resilience, Tsai said, citing the establishment of the All-out Defense Mobilization Agency under the Ministry of National Defense this year, and a joint national cybersecurity defense system recently set up by the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
 
In response, Wollack praised Taiwan’s commitment to advancing human freedom, adding that the country demonstrated that in a world of strong men, a strong woman could also lead a democracy.
 
Taiwan is not a place where democracy is in peril despite continuing internal and external challenges, Wollack said, adding that Taiwan’s democracy is a tool for stability and prosperity that binds the country’s citizens together.  
 
Launched in 1999, the WMD is a global network of democrats who cooperate to promote democracy. The NED serves as the World Movement Secretariat. 


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)