>Foreign Minister Wu delivers speech in Latvia
2023/11/10
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu called for deeper cooperation between Taiwan and Latvia in the face of authoritarian challenges to the international rules-based order.
The minister’s remarks came during a lecture entitled “Latvia and Taiwan: On the Road of Democracy” Nov. 7 at Riga Stradins University. The talk, organized by the university, the Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia and the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, included a Q&A session moderated by LIIA Director Karlis Bukovskis.
Despite their geographic distance, Wu said Taiwan and Latvia have followed similar paths toward democracy and greatly value freedom, the rule of law and human rights, adding that both are similarly being confronted with unprecedented security challenges.
According to the minister, China has long carried out diplomatic isolation and military provocations against Taiwan. Although Taiwan believes that dialogue is the only way to achieve peace, it must appraise its situation in a pragmatic manner and take defensively focused actions such as extending compulsory military service to a year, he said.
Wu spoke of exploring collaborative opportunities with Latvia and other democracies to establish mutually beneficial economic partnerships, adding that the European Union is currently Taiwan’s largest source of foreign investment. At the same time, the minister said, Taiwan is expanding its investment in European industries such as semiconductors, laser technology and renewable energy, as collaboration will reinforce resilience and mitigate the damage caused by authoritarian countries’ economic coercion.
On behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, the minister took the opportunity to express gratitude to Latvia for backing Taiwan’s bid for involvement in the World Health Organization. In response to audience questions, he also detailed the cooperation between Taiwan and a Latvian nongovernmental organization that delivered aid to Ukraine.
Source: Noticias de Taiwan (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)
