President Lai meets delegation from Foreign...

On the afternoon of November 1, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from the Foreign Trade and Development Committee of the Dutch House of Representatives. In remarks, President Lai thanked the House of Representatives for its backing of Taiwan and for urging the Dutch government to prioritize the issue of peace across the Taiwan Strait and strengthen bilateral relations. The president noted that Taiwan and the Netherlands share the values of inclusion, diversity, democracy, and freedom, and that we enjoy close exchanges in such areas as semiconductors, renewable energy, and water resource management. He said that he looks forward to Taiwan and the Netherlands continuing to deepen our partnership in fields including digital trade, cybersecurity, and innovative agriculture as well as to jointly building resilient supply chains for global democracies so as to safeguard the rules-based international free trade order.

A translation of President Lai's remarks follows:

I want to start by warmly welcoming Chair of the Foreign Trade and Development Committee of the Dutch House of Representatives Aukje de Vries and her delegation. This is the first time the House of Representatives has organized an official delegation to Taiwan. This large group of members from various Dutch political parties includes the spokespersons for foreign trade and foreign affairs. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I would like to extend our warmest welcome.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the beginning of Taiwan-Netherlands relations. The Netherlands has made this the Year of Netherlands Innovation and Culture in Taiwan. Your visit serves to further advance bilateral exchanges and cooperation. Taiwan and the Netherlands share the values of inclusion, diversity, democracy, and freedom. We enjoy close exchanges in such areas as semiconductors, renewable energy, and water resource management. And we are both key players in global high-tech supply chains.

I look forward to Taiwan and the Netherlands continuing to deepen our partnership in fields including digital trade, cybersecurity, and innovative agriculture. And I also look forward to strengthening each other's hybrid approach to economic security by jointly building resilient supply chains for global democracies so as to safeguard the rules-based international free trade order. As authoritarian expansion continues, democratic partners must show resolve and work together to safeguard global security and prosperity.

I especially want to thank the House of Representatives for its backing of Taiwan. So far this year, it has passed three motions in support of Taiwan. It has urged the Dutch government to prioritize the issue of peace across the Taiwan Strait and strengthen bilateral relations. The Netherlands was also the first country in Europe to pass a parliamentary motion rejecting China's attempts to distort United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and impede Taiwan's right to international participation.

This year, the Dutch government has demonstrated stronger support for Taiwan than ever before. It congratulated the Taiwanese people for successfully completing elections in January. In May, it dispatched the frigate Tromp to transit the Taiwan Strait, and it publicly voiced indirect support for Taiwan at the World Health Assembly. This all speaks to the Dutch parliament's staunch backing of Taiwan.

In closing, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I welcome you all again and thank you for visiting, allowing Taiwan and the Netherlands to walk side by side on the road of democracy and freedom. I am confident that by working together we will make even greater contributions to the world.

Chair de Vries then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for his gracious reception. She noted that this is the first time a delegation like this from the Dutch House of Representatives is visiting Taiwan. Over the last week, she said, they had a very intense program, and yesterday they were here during the typhoon. She added that they were impressed to see how Taiwan deals with this kind of natural phenomenon. She stated that the purpose of their visit is to get a better understanding of Taiwan's political, economic and social developments, as well as the current state of cross-strait relations.

Chair de Vries pointed out that the Netherlands and Taiwan enjoy excellent relations, engaging in intensive exchanges in the fields of trade and innovation, science and innovation, agriculture, education, and culture. And this year is a very special year, she emphasized, just as President Lai mentioned in his remarks, as it is exactly 400 years ago that the Dutch came to Taiwan's shores for the first time. The chair said that various activities have been organized to mark the occasion through which our shared history is presented in an appropriate, measured, and balanced manner.

Chair de Vries remarked that the commonalities and interactions between Taiwan and the Netherlands are manyfold. Firstly, she said, both the Netherlands and Taiwan are vibrant democracies and share respect for human rights as well as the freedom of press and freedom of association. She added that we also take very seriously the issues of sustainable economic development and climate change. The second example she mentioned is our shared values, saying that both Taiwan and the Netherlands are aiming at improving working standards and working environments for our workers. The third example, she said, is in the bilateral economic domain. She pointed out that Taiwan is the second largest export market for the Netherlands in Asia, even before Japan and Korea. The Netherlands is one of the largest European investors in Taiwan, she said, with a total stock of over $35 billion euro of investments. She also noted that over 200 Taiwanese companies are using the Netherlands as a gateway to Europe.

Noting that their Committee on Foreign Trade and Development monitors foreign trade and development policies, Chair de Vries said that many of the themes they have discussed this week will be very useful for their work back home, since these policies include trade and investment, climate policy, corporate social responsibility, human rights, and international cooperation in the fields of science and innovation. She added that what they have learned throughout the week will also allow them to execute a monitoring role regarding Dutch policies towards Taiwan and the region as a whole, including cross-strait relations.

In that regard, Chair de Vries emphasized, the recent increase in tensions is very much a matter of their concern. She added that the consensus in the Dutch House of Representatives is that any unilateral change in the cross-strait situation must be avoided, and that any dispute must be solved through peaceful means, not by force or coercion. The series of motions adopted over the past few years, she said, reflects the level of support that Taiwan enjoys in the Dutch House of Representatives.

In closing, Chair de Vries thanked President Lai for the warm welcome. She remarked that it has been a visit they will never forget and that it has given them confidence that Taiwan and the Netherlands do not only share a rich common past and a fruitful and productive common present, but that we also have a bright and promising future ahead, with ever closer cooperation.

The delegation also included Members of Parliament Daniëlle Hirsch, Roelien Kamminga, Isa Kahraman, Jan Paternotte, Derk Boswijk, Dennis Ram, Tom van der Lee, Femke Zeedijk, and Eric van der Burg. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Netherlands Office Taipei Representative Guido Tielman.

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