President Lai meets former Prime Minister Noda...

On the afternoon of August 21, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by Noda Yoshihiko, former prime minister and current chief executive advisor of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. In remarks, President Lai stated that Taiwan will continue to enhance its national defense capabilities and work hand in hand with Japan to jointly defend regional and global peace and stability. He also expressed hope that Taiwan and Japan can sign a bilateral economic partnership agreement to deepen economic and trade ties and that we can together take our bilateral cooperation to another level and spur more mutual progress and development.

A translation of President Lai's remarks follows:

I welcome former Prime Minister Noda and the delegation to Taiwan, and I appreciate that he delivered a keynote speech at the Ketagalan Forum. I met with former Prime Minister Noda when I visited Japan in May 2019, so I am very happy to be able to meet him again today for this discussion.

When we last met, former Prime Minister Noda mentioned the assistance that Taiwan has provided to Japan after it was struck by major earthquakes and said that the Japanese people would never forget. I will mention that Japan lent support to Taiwan during the pandemic, donating several million doses of vaccine to Taiwan so that we could weather the crisis together. Likewise, this generosity is something the people of Taiwan will never forget. After a major earthquake struck Hualien in eastern Taiwan earlier this year, the government of Japan and many other friends throughout its society donated funds to Taiwan in a clear show of concern and support. Once again, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I want to convey our deepest gratitude to everyone in Japan.

Taiwan and Japan have a deep and abiding friendship and are important partners. And I firmly believe that we can have even more exchanges and cooperation across the board in such areas as disaster preparedness, trade and the economy, and security.

In the face of expanding authoritarianism, the Japanese government has not only continued to enhance its self-defense capabilities, it is also stepping up cooperation with other countries to build up a multilayered regional collaborative defense grid. This approach signals Japan's determination to maintain the international order. I want to thank the government of Japan, former Prime Minister Noda, and our many other friends in Japan for their attention to and support of security in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan will continue to enhance its national defense capabilities and work hand in hand with Japan to jointly defend regional and global peace and stability.

Since assuming office I have announced my administration's intention to transform Taiwan into an "AI island." Taiwan and Japan have considerable room for cooperation in such fields as semiconductors, AI, and next-generation communications. We hope that Taiwan and Japan can sign a bilateral economic partnership agreement to deepen our economic and trade ties. Taiwan intends to actively pursue accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and I hope that our distinguished guests here today will continue to make the case for supporting and assisting Taiwan in this regard.

Finally, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I want to thank former Prime Minister Noda and our distinguished guests once again for coming to visit. Let us together take our bilateral cooperation to another level and spur more mutual progress and development.

Former Prime Minister Noda then delivered remarks, stating that he was very happy to share a meal with President Lai when he visited Japan in 2019. Meeting with President Lai again today, he congratulated the president on his inauguration this past May 20. He noted that President Lai had in his inaugural address emphasized "peace," which, he believes, means that President Lai hopes for peace in the Taiwan Strait. The former prime minister expressed his belief that President Lai will be able to exercise superb leadership, and said that Japan is willing to lend its assistance.

Former Prime Minister Noda mentioned that in the keynote speech he delivered earlier that morning at the Ketagalan Forum, he had repeatedly emphasized that Japan supports Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly as an observer as well as its accession to the CPTPP. As he emphasized in his speech, he said that Japan and the international community fully recognize the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, that they are opposed to the use of force to unilaterally change the status quo, and that they believe cross-strait issues must be resolved by peaceful means. Moving forward, he stated, Japan will continue to communicate this position to the international community.

The delegation also included Japanese House of Representatives Members Tezuka Yoshio and Ito Shunsuke. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Katayama Kazuyuki.

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