President: Deepen Cooperation in 3 Areas of Security and Resilience to Inject More Momentum into Taiwan-Japan Relations

(CNA, Taipei, June 30) President Lai Ching-te met with the "Japan Chinese General Association Goodwill Delegation" today and stated that Taiwan's economic, democratic, and international competitiveness have been recognized internationally in recent years. In the future, Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with Japan in three major areas: security and resilience, economic security and technological cooperation, and people-to-people and local exchanges. He hopes that overseas compatriots will continue to play a bridging role and inject more momentum into Taiwan-Japan friendship.

President Lai, accompanied by Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an and Overseas Community Affairs Council Chairperson Hsu Chia-ching, met with the "Japan Chinese General Association Goodwill Delegation" at the Presidential Office this afternoon. In his speech, he said that since its founding in 1946, the Japan Chinese General Association has branches in major cities across Japan, uniting the strength of the overseas Chinese community. Through events such as the Osaka Spring Festival Festival and Taiwan Festival, it has allowed more Japanese friends to recognize and understand Taiwan. The overseas Chinese community's active involvement in public welfare, charity, and local affairs has earned the respect of mainstream Japanese society, enabling the continuous deepening of Taiwan-Japan friendship.

The President stated that Taiwan's economic growth rate reached 8.76% last year, and its per capita GDP has surpassed that of Japan and South Korea. It is estimated that Taiwan will enter the top 20 largest economies in the world next year. Taiwan ranks second in Asia in terms of its democracy index and freedom rankings. In this year's World Competitiveness Ranking, Taiwan ranked 4th globally, achieving its best performance ever.

He said that Taiwan's performance in various fields has been recognized by the international community, and it continues to deepen its partnership with like-minded countries such as Japan. Last year, Taiwan and Japan signed a digital trade agreement and a memorandum of understanding on regional customs cooperation, marking a new milestone in their cooperation. In the future, efforts will continue in three areas: security and resilience, economic security and technological cooperation, and people-to-people and local exchanges, to create more fruitful results for Taiwan-Japan friendly relations.

He stated that Taiwan is actively enhancing the resilience of its entire society's defense, and Taiwan and Japan can exchange experiences and jointly respond to various challenges. Not only should Taiwan and Japan advance hand in hand in the fields of semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), but they should also extend their cooperation to cutting-edge fields such as net-zero emissions and next-generation communications, jointly conduct research and development, and promote mutual prosperity and development.

The President pointed out that the three areas of deepening cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in the future will require strong support from overseas compatriots. Especially in promoting people-to-people and local exchanges, in addition to the government actively promoting exchange activities in tourism, sports, etc., overseas compatriots who have been deeply rooted in Japan for a long time are important bridges between Taiwan and Japan. We look forward to working together in the future to inject inexhaustible momentum into the development of Taiwan-Japan friendship. (Editor: Lin Ke-lun, Wan Shu-chang) 1150630

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