Press Release

Legislative Yuan

November 16, 2022

Second Taiwan-US-Japan Strategic Dialogue held via videoconference

You Si-kun: Taiwan firmly safeguards democracy along with partners around the world 

Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun attended the 2nd Taiwan-U.S.-Japan Strategic Forum videoconference hosted by the Japanese Parliament this morning joined by members of the Taiwan-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group, including Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Lo Chih-cheng, Kuomintang (KMT) member Chen Yi-shin, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chair Chiu Chen-yuan, and New Power Party (NPP) Chair Chen Jiau-hua.

The Japanese organizers included Chairman Keiji Furuya of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council; Representatives Keitaro Ohno, Minoru Kihara, Kami Odawara, and Ariichiro Wada; and National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Professor Narushige Michishita. US participants included Senator Bill Haggerty; Representative Jason Crow; Representative Rob Wittman; Brian Clark, Director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Science, Technology, and Ideas; Research Fellow Kenneth Weinstein; and Erik Bethel, a general partner at the America’s Frontier Fund.

In his opening remarks, President You expressed his pleasure at attending the Second Taiwan-US-Japan Strategic Dialogue and thanked the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council for hosting the forum again, which has brought trilateral exchanges closer. He paid tribute to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and lauded his contributions to peace in East Asia and his support for the forum. He went on to point out that the democratic landscape has eroded. The Chinese Communist Party has betrayed to the international community the true nature of autocratic rule by using the visit to Taiwan of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a pretext for repeated military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Following the CCP’s 20th National Congress, he continued, the Chinese dictatorship has become more aggressive, and its intention to invade Taiwan has become clearer. He told of how Chinese military aircraft had violated Taiwan’s airspace on 230 days in 1,518 sorties over the course of the year, posing a serious threat to peace in the Indo-Pacific and the world at large.

President You said that the best example of Taiwan-US-Japan cooperation is in defending democracy. As late Prime Minister Abe stated: “A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance.” President You stated that since the first dialogue, 47 members of Japan’s Diet had visited Taiwan and that 32 members of the US Congress had visited since 2021. In terms of policy, he stated that Japan’s Foreign Ministry had released its 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook on Foreign Affairs in April, and the Ministry of Defense had also released a white paper. These served to buttress the US’s five acts and Six Assurances as well as the Taiwan Relations Act being reviewed by the Senate and showcase the progress that has been made in furthering the Taiwan-US-Japan comprehensive partnership. It also underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

President You closed by reiterating that Taiwan upholds freedom and democracy and opposes authoritarian regimes and has long collaborated with like-minded countries to defend the global development of freedom, democracy, and human rights. He then made three statements:

1.   We are grateful for and urge the renewal of the US-Japan alliance to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

2.   We urge assistance be made to Taiwan to join more international organizations.

3.   We urge global democracies to strengthen cooperation on promoting China’s democratization.

Afterwards, the organizers invited a special guest, former US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, to speak on the importance of the trilateral alliance. He said he hopes that the alliance will lead to greater protection of freedom, democracy, and human rights around the world.

The forum was moderated by Professor Narushige Michishita of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies of Japan. Remarks were made by Representative Keiji Furuya; Senator Bill Hagerty; President of the Legislative Yuan You Si-kun; and former US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster. Closed-door discussions followed, with US, Japanese, and Taiwanese legislators expressing their views on the strategic relationship between Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. The three parties had warm interactions amid a dynamic discussion. Chairman Furuya delivered a speech addressing the success of the Taiwan-US-Japan Strategic Dialogue and parliamentary diplomacy.

A translation of President You’s remarks is as follows:

Chairman Furuya; Senator Hagerty; members of parliament joining us online; Professor Michishita of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies; Dr. Weinstein of the Hudson Institute; ladies and gentlemen: good morning!

I am pleased to participate in this second Taiwan-US-Japan Strategic Dialogue. Please allow me to introduce the representatives of the four party caucuses in Taiwan’s legislature: DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng, KMT Legislator Chen Yi-hsin, New Power Party Legislator Chen Jiau-hua, and Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan.

I want to thank Chairman Furuya, Secretary General Kihara, and Liaison Officer Shinoda for fulfilling last year’s commitment to hold this dialogue again to ensure close contact though this platform among parliamentarians from Taiwan, the US, and Japan. I also want to once again pay tribute and respects to late Prime Minister Abe for his constant concern for peace in East Asia and his support of this forum. His spirit and friendship will be always in the hearts of the people of Taiwan. I would like to express my gratitude to Chairman Furuya and the members of the Diet. Chairman Furuya mentioned earlier that more than 20 members of the Diet had participated in our National Day parade. Although the weather was not good, it showed the international community that Taiwan and Japan are very close. I led the members of the Diet to my hometown, Yilan, where we looked through binoculars at Japan’s Yonaguni Island from the Yilan coast. Thank you very much, Chairman Furuya.

Facing the dynamism of the international situation in recent years, we have seen the global democratic landscape shrinking. We have witnessed more authoritarian regimes, dictatorships, persecution, and bullying. Antidemocratic forces are eroding the democratic landscape, such as crackdowns on Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill protest, Myanmar’s junta government, Afghanistan, and the eight-month-long Russian invasion of Ukraine. In August, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, leading to CCP military live-fire exercises in Taiwan’s surrounding waters. This shocked the world, but also helped everyone see the true nature of the CCP authoritarian regime.

The international democratic alliance has hoped for China’s democratization, but the situation has deteriorated since the CCP’s 20th National Congress. Xi Jinping’s removal of the two-term limit on a Chinese presidency set by Deng Xiao-ping marks a return to dictatorship and the imperial system. In addition, Xi spoke before the National People’s Congress about Taiwan, claiming that China will not renounce the use of force against Taiwan. This revealed his hand and led to a global discussion of the ramifications. According to Ministry of National Defense data as of November 7, over 230 days, CCP military fighter jets entered into our airspace 1,518 times. This has severely threatened Indo-Pacific and world peace.

In December last year, late Prime Minister Abe said: “A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance.” His powerful statement highlighted the determination of the three countries to fight against hegemony. It also echoed Taiwan’s attempt last July to urge that all Indo-Pacific countries draw a red line against the CCP. In August, the visit of US House Speaker Pelosi symbolized US determination to stand with Taiwan to defend freedom and peace. Although President Biden said, after meeting with Xi on November 14, that the CCP does not intend to invade Taiwan, the Russia-Ukraine war reminds democracies to be mindful and prepared. Taiwan will also be alert and at the ready.     

Since last year’s dialogue, 47 Japanese MPs have visited Taiwan. I am delighted that Chairman Furuya and Secretary General Kihara are joining us. As well, Japan’s Foreign Ministry released its 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook on Foreign Affairs in April and the Ministry of Defense its annual White Paper. The latter reiterated that “Taiwan’s stability is very important to Japan’s security and the stability of international community” and urges the peaceful settlement of cross-Strait issues. Taiwan is grateful for these sentiments.

The US Congress has strengthened Taiwan-US relations through legislation and visits, showing US strong bipartisan support of Taiwan. Since 2021, in addition to US government officials and think tank fellows, 32 members of Congress, including House Speaker Pelosi, have visited Taiwan. In addition, Taiwan-US relations are moving forward steadily under the US’s five acts and Six Assurances. The Taiwan Policy Act being deliberated in the US Senate would elevate bilateral cooperation partnership as a response to the CCP’s bullying and threats.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index released in February, Taiwan ranked 8th in the world and first in Asia among 167 countries and territories surveyed. According to the Freedom in the World 2022 report released by Freedom House, Taiwan is tied for 17th with Iceland, and is behind only Japan in Asia. Taiwan has always made efforts with like-minded countries to defend global freedom, democracy, and human rights, and has opposed authoritarianism worldwide. The democratic alliance needs to make authoritarian regimes understand that we will not let them have their way. To this end, I make the following three statements:

1. We are grateful for an urge the renewal of the US-Japan alliance to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

As concerns the Indo-Pacific region, former Prime Minister Abe underscored that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance.” US President Joe Biden has repeatedly reiterated a rock-solid US commitment to Taiwan. Since Biden took office, six arms sales worth US$2.3 billion have been approved. Recently, the US dispatched hundreds of fighter jets to patrol the western Pacific on three consecutive days. On behalf of Taiwan’s legislature, I want to thank the US and Japan for your active response to China’s bullying. The US-Japan alliance is not simply a bilateral alliance but an important part of regional peace and stability.  

2.   We urge assistance be made to Taiwan to join more international organizations.

Taiwan has long confronted the CCP’s irrational repression and is excluded from participating in many international organizations. We hope the US and Japan will carry out the ideas behind the TAIPEI Act to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations that do not require statehood as membership and help it become an observer in international organizations that require statehood, including the United Nations.  

3.   We urge global democracies to strengthen cooperation to promote China’s democratization.

China’s external expansion and domestic repression have become a new normal and pose a severe threat to global peace. I urge democratic countries around the world to pay greater attention to fundamental human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hong Kong, and other regions on promoting China’s democratization, which would help the Chinese people share in the universal values of democracy, freedom, human rights, and rule of law as we do. 

In closing, I want to once again thank Chairman Furuya for your efforts. I look forward to meeting all of you in person in the near future. I wish this dialogue every success and all of you good health. Thank you!