Taipei, June 30 (CNA) Taiwan's democracy is determined to survive and thrive despite facing serious threats from China, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said at a democracy summit held in Denmark earlier this week. In a rare public speech made at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on June 27, Wu first thanked the chief organizer Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary general and former prime minister of Denmark, for inviting him to speak.
Wu said this was the first time a Taiwan foreign minister received an invitation to attend the annual forum.He noted that Taiwan's relatively young democracy is under constant military threat from an authoritarian regime that continues to squeeze the nation's international space, referring to Beijing's hostility toward Taipei.
Taiwan continues to speak up on the deterioration of human rights and religious freedom in China and supported recent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, thus making the country a threat to authoritarianism, he said. "Even though our democracy is under threat, we will not give up our democracy and democratic way of life. In fact, we are determined to make Taiwan's democracy a beacon for those who long for freedom, democracy and the protection of human rights," he stressed.
"Taiwan is under threat, but we are determined to survive and thrive, to prove that democracy is a better path for mankind," he added. As a country standing on the frontline in defending democracy, Wu pledged that Taiwan will hold firm and succeed "so that people in Hong Kong and beyond can still see the beacon light of hope." Wu's speech on Taiwan's fight for democracy was made on the first day of the two-day summit.
The annual summit brought together political and business leaders, including current and former heads of government from the world's democracies. It was organized by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2017 by Rasmussen. The inaugural Copenhagen Democracy Summit took place in July 2018 and was attended by former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Reference at: http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201906300010.aspx
