President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) delivered video remarks to the Concordia Annual Summit in New York on Wednesday. The annual summit is timed to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly and focuses on the private sector and public-private partnerships.
In her speech, Tsai said that Taiwan is not only a crucial partner to fellow democracies, but also plays a critical role in global supply chains. She says 90% of the world’s state-of-the-art semiconductors are made in Taiwan, and almost half of the world’s cargo ships make their way through the Taiwan Strait every year. Therefore Tsai says, peace and stability in the strait is in the interest of everyone.
The president says that China conducts millions of daily cyberattacks and frequently holds military exercises and other gray-zone activities to exert pressure on Taiwan and its allies. She says dealing with Chinese aggression requires international cooperation.
Tsai says she is reassured by the numerous global leaders expressing concern over Taiwan. She mentioned U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ comment that the U.N. will make every effort to ease tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Tsai adds that American, Japanese, and Korean leaders have also repeatedly called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Tsai says Taiwan’s transition from years of authoritarian rule to democracy should be a source of encouragement in the face of expanding authoritarianism. She concluded by saying that such global challenges can be overcome by coming together and standing up for democratic ideals.