Taiwan, US hold 4th Indo-Pacific democratic governance consultations

2024/03/29

The fourth U.S.-Taiwan Consultations on Democratic Governance in the Indo-Pacific Region was held March 26 in Taipei City and virtually in Washington D.C., spotlighting the like-minded partners’ commitment to strengthening elected institutions.

Launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and American Institute in Taiwan, the annual forum serves as a platform for the U.S. and Taiwan to pursue joint projects promoting freedom, human rights and transparency in the region.

According to the MOFA, the discussions were hosted by Wang Liang-yu, director general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, with Allison Peters, acting deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor as the chief U.S. speaker.

Other high-profile U.S. participants included representatives from the Office of Taiwan Coordination under the United States Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; United States Agency for International Development and American Institute in Taiwan, while delegates from Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund and civil society groups also joined the conference either in person or online.

During the symposium, the attendees exchange views on how to counter foreign information manipulation and interference, strengthen Indo-Pacific democratic governance, reinforce the resilience of Taiwan’s democracy and civil society as well as how to further cooperation in the future, the MOFA added.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Kelly Wu-chiao Hsieh said that authoritarian regimes have intended to reshape the international climate by using cognitive warfare, spreading disinformation and even adopting artificial intelligence to export authoritarianism digitally and undermine people’s confidence in democratic systems.

Hsieh continued that these challenges and threats have prompted democracies to become alert and united, as evidenced by the deepening of Taiwan-US partnership based on the shared values of democracy, freedom and rules of law, adding that Taiwan will keep promoting the public and private collaboration with like-minded nations.

This year marked the 45th anniversary of Taiwan Relations Act. Following the Summit for Democracy last year, this year’s symposium is another powerful example of the Taiwan-US long-standing bond. With multiple elections set to be held globally in 2024, Taiwan vows to continue working with the U.S. to jointly safeguard the value of democracy and advance the freedom, openness and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. 


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