Winston Wen-yi Chen, the Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada delivers 2020 Taiwan National Day speech. Please click here to watch the video.
The speech script from the Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in CanadaWinston Wen-yi Chen:
Greetings – my name is Winston Chen, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada. Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 109th National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan) online.
As the global community continues to fight against COVID-19, Taiwan has displayed fortitude and resilience in accomplishing world acclaimed achievements such as completing its presidential election in January, employing the successful Taiwan Model to contain the spread of pandemic, and defending its democratic way of life against China's totalitarian expansion.
While 2020 has been a very challenging year, we have much to celebrate and reflect upon. As like-minded nations that share universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, this year has brought Canada and Taiwan closer together.
Taiwan and Canada have assisted each other to contain the COVID-19. Taiwan has donated 1.7 million pieces PPE to Canada. Canadian health officials and experts have also participated in health forums hosted by Taiwan to exchange their expertise.
While 2020 has severely disrupted global trade, it has also given the world the opportunity to reorganize the critical supply chains and to search for new economic cooperations.
Taiwan-Canada exchanges have been remarkably successful in recent years, and my Canadian counterpart in Taipei, Executive Director Jordan Reeves, has made great strides toward advancing the shared goals of our two nations.
I would like to take this moment to thank all Taiwanese Canadians and Canadian friends for your support and friendship toward Taiwan. A special thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and the Canadian government for the continued, principled advocacy for Taiwan’s observer status and meaningful participation in international fora, such as the World Health Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization.
While significant progress has been made, there is much more to be done. It is our hope that Canada and Taiwan can deepen our already strong ties through closer economic integration. We hope that Canada will support Taiwan’s bid to become a CPTPP member, and sign a FIPA to foster an integrated post-pandemic economic recovery.
Taiwan will continue to work with Canada and other like-minded partners to safeguard freedom and democracy worldwide.
Despite the challenges facing the world, we look to the future with optimism, knowing that with each passing year we continue along the path of progress, deepening our integration in the international community, and strengthening our important ties with important allies like Canada.
Thank you for your attention. Best wishes for Taiwan and Canada!
