2025-03-17
On the morning of March 17, President Lai Ching-te attended the opening of the 2025 Yushan Forum, the theme of which was “New Southbound Policy+: Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, and a New World.” In remarks, President Lai stated that the New Southbound Policy has led to great success in economic and trade cooperation, professional exchanges, resource sharing, and building regional links. He said that in the past, Taiwanese industries went from moving westward across the Taiwan Strait, to shifting southbound, to working closer with the north, but that now, Taiwan is confidently stepping across the Pacific, reaching eastward, to the Americas and other regions. While staying firmly rooted in Taiwan, he said, Taiwan’s enterprises are expanding their global presence and marketing worldwide.
The president stated that Taiwan will strive alongside its partners in democracy to bolster non-red supply chains and digital solidarity, and together respond to the threats and challenges posed by expanding authoritarianism. He indicated that the Yushan Forum is a place to share experiences, and more importantly, lay down firm foundations for exchanges and cooperation among participants’ countries to create greater stability for the region and greater prosperity for the world.
A transcript of President Lai’s remarks follows:
On behalf of all the people of Taiwan, I want to welcome our good friends joining us from around the world. Your presence shows support for a peaceful and stable Taiwan and a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The Yushan Forum has become more than just an important platform for the New Southbound Policy. Over these eight years, more than 3,600 participants from Taiwan and 28 other countries have helped deepen Taiwan’s connections with nations around the world.
The New Southbound Policy has led to great success in economic and trade cooperation, professional exchanges, resource sharing, and building regional links.
Looking ahead, the Yushan Forum will be taking on the important mission of carrying its legacy forward and transforming it into action. Not only must we turn consensus into action plans for close cooperation among countries in the region; we must also work with partners around the world to forge ahead with cooperative plans for mutual prosperity. We hope to envision a new world from Taiwan – and see Taiwan in this new world.
We are also embracing an era of smart technology. The government sessions of this Yushan Forum are therefore centered around topics including smart healthcare, smart transportation, and resilient supply chains for semiconductors. Taiwan is intent on working side by side with other countries to face the challenges of this new era.
Today’s Taiwan celebrates not only the democratic achievements that are recognized by the international community, but also our strengths in the semiconductor and other tech industries, which enable us to play a key role in restructuring global democratic supply chains and the economic order.the Yushan Forum is a place where we can share our experiences, and more importantly, lay down firm foundations for exchanges and cooperation among our countries. This way, we can create greater stability for the region and greater prosperity for the world.
We are building on Taiwan as a “silicon island” for semiconductors while accelerating innovation and AI applications for industry. These efforts will help Taiwan become an “AI island” as well. We are also developing forward-looking fields such as quantum technology and precision medicine, which will create an industry ecosystem that is highly competitive and innovative.
The government will also develop economic models powered by innovation. This will help SMEs(small- and medium-sized enterprises)upgrade and transform the power of digital transformation and net-zero transition.
In the past, Taiwanese industries went from moving westward across the Taiwan Strait, to shifting southbound, to working closer with the north. But now, we are confidently stepping across the Pacific, reaching eastward, to the Americas and other regions. While staying firmly rooted in Taiwan, our enterprises are expanding their global presence and marketing worldwide.
Taiwan will continue to engage with the world, and we welcome the world to come closer to Taiwan. As we gather here today, I am confident that we share the same goal: Through international cooperation, we hope to build an even more inclusive, resilient, prosperous Indo-Pacific, while jointly defending the democracy, freedom, and peace we so firmly believe in.
I want to thank you all once again for supporting Taiwan. We will strive alongside our partners in democracy to bolster non-red supply chains and digital solidarity, and together respond to the threats and challenges posed by expanding authoritarianism.
I wish everyone a successful forum. Thank you.
Also in attendance at the event were former Prime Minister of Denmark and Alliance of Democracies Foundation Chairman Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša, Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council Chairman Furuya Keiji, and American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office Director Raymond Greene.
Source： Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)
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