The Taiwan Affairs Office of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China held the National Day banquet on the evening of the 8th, inviting over 300 guests including Taiwanese business leaders and community leaders from Hong Kong and Macau, Hong Kong and Macau students studying in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau organizations in Taiwan, and various important figures to celebrate the 115th birthday of the Republic of China.
In his speech, Chairman of the Taiwan Affairs Office, Chiu Chui-cheng, mentioned the close economic and personnel exchanges between Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. In 2025, Taiwan was the second-largest trading partner of Hong Kong, while Hong Kong was the fifth-largest trading partner of Taiwan, with the Taiwan-Hong Kong trade volume exceeding 71.8 billion US dollars, reaching a new high in nearly 29 years.
Chiu pointed out that the Taiwan-Hong Kong air route has consistently ranked as the busiest air route in the world. In 2025, approximately 1.31 million visitors from Hong Kong and Macau traveled to Taiwan, ranking second among foreign visitors to Taiwan.
Chiu stated that tens of thousands of friends from Hong Kong and Macau have come to Taiwan with aspirations for freedom, democracy, and pluralistic values, for studies, employment, residence, and settlement. They have blossomed and demonstrated their expertise in various fields, injecting Taiwan with new vitality and energy. The government will continue its efforts to assist more friends from Hong Kong and Macau who cherish freedom and democracy to come to Taiwan for development, living, and working in Taiwan.
He emphasized that Taiwan has always been the guardian of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but the Chinese Communist Party has long been pressuring Taiwan through military threats, diplomatic suppression, economic coercion, social infiltration, legal warfare, and cognitive warfare, attempting to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and posing increasingly severe challenges to regional and international order.
“In terms of geopolitical, economic and technological strength, and the values of freedom and democracy, Taiwan holds unique strategic importance and is a key pillar in maintaining global prosperity and stability. The government will continue to uphold national sovereignty and the way of life based on democracy, freedom, and the rule of law, and is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Chiu said.