Taiwan’s Representative to the EU and Belgium says his country is “a reliable, trustworthy” partner for the West.
Alexander Tah-ray Yui was speaking at an event at Brussels’ Autoworld car museum to celebrate Taiwan’s 112th National Day.
He said, “I must admit that the venue is quite a peculiar setting to host a National Day celebration, although, for car lovers like myself, I think we’re in good company.”
He added, “But this sort of highlights Taiwan’s often overlooked but critical role in making the world tick.”
“These supercars, the Bugattis that speed over 400 kilometers per hour, are truly a marvel of automotive engineering, but it is most likely a semiconductor chip made in Taiwan that helps it synchronize all its components to have such an awesome performance.”
“Or take soccer for example, we don’t know which countries will qualify for the 2026 World Cup yet, but one thing for sure, Taiwan will be present with its proprietary high-performance fabrics made from recycled PET soda bottles, used to clothe more than half of the national teams in the World Cup.”
He said, “This is Taiwan: a reliable, trustworthy, though low key, definitely not wolf warrior type, but indispensable partner that plays by the rules.”
He was addressing EU Ambassadors, and Permanent Representatives, MEPs and members of the Belgian Federal Parliament, as well as the Flemish, Brussels and Walloon Parliaments.
Taiwan celebrates October 10 as its national day, marking an uprising in 1911 that ended China’s last imperial dynasty and ushered in the Republic of China. The republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s Communists, who set up the People’s Republic of China.
The Republic of China remains Taiwan’s formal name.
The Representative went on, “We, the people of Taiwan, have demonstrated a high degree of resilience while facing this constant threat of aggression, as we are committed to upholding our national sovereignty, and defending our democratic way of life.”
“With the help of friends, we are increasing our defense capabilities by building or improving our military hardware.”
“We are also strengthening our civil defense preparedness to play a supporting role in times of need.”
He noted that, “The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign, independent state, not subordinate to any other party, and we will do whatever it takes to defend our homeland and, I stress again, to preserve our democratic way of life.”
He told the audience, “Looking back since our last National Day reception in 2022, we have continued to see notable developments in our partnerships with both Belgium and the European Union.”
“In April, while still in Taipei, I had the privilege to hold the first cooperation consultation meeting with the Flemish government based on the memorandum of understanding signed in January 2022.”
“This year, the Belgian federal government, for the third time, voiced its support for Taiwan’s observer status at the World Health Assembly.”
“Moreover, Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has on several occasions reiterated the importance of maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”
He noted,”These expressions of support are genuinely meaningful and important to us.”
