2024 Ketagalan Forum wraps up in Taipei

2024/08/23

The eighth annual Ketagalan Forum wrapped up Aug. 21 in Taipei City, after drawing experts, officials and political figures from home and abroad to exchange views on challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific.
 
During his opening remarks, President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan is determined to serve as a key driver for the development of global democracy, peace and prosperity. He called on the country’s like-minded partners to work in unity to support the democratic umbrella of countries and defend their shared values.
 
Facing growing authoritarianism, Lai said his administration will implement the Four Pillars of Peace action plan to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, including strengthening national defense capabilities, improving economic security, expanding partnerships with members of the free world and developing stable and principled leadership to address cross-strait issues.
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event featured three keynote speeches and three plenary sessions involving an in-person attendance of around 200 participants from 11 countries, with 3,000 others taking part online.
 
During his speech, Yoshihiko Noda, Japan’s former prime minister and current member of the House of Representatives, said peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait have global consensus and opposed any unilateral change to the status quo through force or coercion. He also supported Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization as an observer, along with its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
 
Eduard Heger, former prime minister of Slovakia, highlighted the friendly and robust ties with Taiwan and urged democracies around the world to confront authoritarian regimes with courage and strengthen partnerships in the face of cross-border challenges.
 
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said that in her previous capacity, she had personally witnessed how China abused Resolution 2758 to suppress Taiwan’s global participation. She called on the U.S. and other democracies to stand firmly with Taiwan.


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