President Lai addresses 10th Taiwan-Japan Exchange Summit in Tainan via video

On the afternoon of July 29, President Lai Ching-te addressed the 10th Taiwan-Japan Exchange Summit in Tainan via video. The president stated that with everyone’s support, he looks forward to continuing to unite the forces of Taiwan-Japan friendship and foster mutually beneficial development. Taiwan will continue to make our voice heard on the international stage and make even greater contributions to the world, he said, and will work together with democratic countries to promote democracy, peace, and prosperity around the world.

A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows:

First, I would like to extend a sincere welcome to all of the distinguished guests attending this year’s Taiwan-Japan Exchange Summit. Last week, Taiwan was battered by Typhoon Gaemi, so I want to take this opportunity to express gratitude to all sectors of Japanese society for showing concern for Taiwan.

I would also like to express gratitude to everyone gathered here for working to deepen the friendship between Taiwan and Japan. In 2015 when the first Taiwan-Japan Exchange Summit was convened in Kanazawa, I was the mayor of Tainan. In recent years, I also participated in the summit in various capacities, including as premier and vice president.

Now in its 10th year, I want to congratulate this exchange platform for achieving this milestone, and extend a warm welcome as the summit convenes in Tainan for the first time, during the historic Tainan 400 celebrations.

This year, there are over 400 distinguished guests from Japan in attendance, setting a new record for summits held in Taiwan, and the number of local participants is also an all-time high. This shows that Taiwan and Japan hold each other in high regard, and that our mutual bonds are deepening. I see that 70 percent of our Japanese guests are visiting Tainan for the first time, and I am confident that you will fall in love with Tainan, and with Taiwan.

Last year’s Taiwan-Japan Exchange Summit, held in Tainan’s sister city Sendai, saw the passing of a declaration supporting Taiwan’s international participation. For today’s summit in Tainan, we also hope that with everyone’s support, we can continue to make our voice heard on the international stage and make even greater contributions to the world. In the future, Taiwan will work together with democratic countries to promote democracy, peace, and prosperity around the world.

With the support of our distinguished guests, I am confident that the Taiwan-Japan Exchange Summit can continue to unite the forces of Taiwan-Japan friendship and foster mutually beneficial development. Positive developments in Taiwan and Japan are sure to make for a better world. Let’s work together to continue writing new chapters of Taiwan-Japan friendship. Thank you.