The people of Taiwan celebrate Double Tenth National Day this year with great confidence, pride and hope for the future. Despite mounting pressure from China for the world to turn its back on the beacon of freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, the opposite is happening. Taiwan is growing in stature as more and more like-minded countries recognize its importance as a front-line state in the defense of shared values and rules-based order.
Such support is illustrated by Taiwan’s strong ties with its diplomatic allies and key partners
such as the U.S. and Japan. Over the past 12 months, President Tsai Ing-wen made state visits to Belize, Kingdom of Eswatini, Marshall Islands, Paraguay, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, as well as stopovers in the U.S. These trips generated positive headlines and demonstrated that Taiwan’s friendship, support and spirit of cooperation are building better tomorrows far from its shores.
This momentum is powering Taiwan’s drive to cultivate closer connections with countries
throughout the Indo-Pacific. At the heart of the eort lies the New Southbound Policy—a
farsighted national development strategy deepening mutually beneficial relations in the areas
of agriculture, business, culture, education, tourism and trade with the 10 ASEAN member
states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
As Taiwan celebrates its special day Oct. 10, the country’s credentials as a force for good, a
force for stability and a force for development are on full display. The best gift the international community can give is to stand with Taiwan as it makes its way.
