Taiwan’s Vice President, Lai Ching-te, expressed on the 17th during a meeting with the Canadian “Parliamentary Delegation for Indigenous Affairs” that Taiwan highly values its friendship with Canada and hopes for further flourishing of bilateral relations.
The delegation of 8 Canadian Parliamentarians, the first group of Indigenous members to visit Taiwan, was welcomed by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This marks the first time that the Canadian Parliament has organized a group visit focused on “Indigenous exchange” to Taiwan.
Lai Ching-te, in her speech, first extended a sincere welcome on behalf of the Taiwanese government and people. “We highly cherish our friendship with Canada, our cooperation is extensive, especially in the exchange between indigenous peoples. The unique contributions of indigenous cultures to society are reflected in our bilateral relations.”
She mentioned her past tenure as a legislator in Hualien County, where there are 6 indigenous tribes with beautiful scenery and rich indigenous cultures. Recently, a group of Taiwanese indigenous peoples traveled to Hawaii to participate in the Pacific Arts Festival, engaging with thousands of indigenous artists from the Pacific region. Celebrating the vitality of indigenous cultures together is believed to be a very meaningful experience.
Lai Ching-te pointed out that Taiwan and Canada have many areas for continued collaboration. She hopes for ongoing exchanges to further strengthen bilateral relations, expressing the desire for future visits from Canadian guests to Taiwan.
The visiting delegation includes Brian Francis, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples; David Wells, Senate Conservative Caucus Chair; Senators Kim Pate and Judy White; Members of Parliament Marcus Powlowski, Leah Gazan, Lori Idlout, and Blake Desjarlais. They were accompanied by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chang Guang, and Representative of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, Jim Nickel, in their visit to meet Vice President Lai Ching-te at the Presidential Office.
In addition, Taiwan’s National Security Council issued a press release on the 16th stating that Brian Francis and the delegation of 8 visited the Presidential Office to meet with Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Joseph Wu, accompanied by personnel from the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They had in-depth discussions on Taiwan-Canada relations, regional situations, and how democratic partners can jointly deter authoritarian expansion globally.
Joseph Wu expressed his gratitude to Canada for issuing the “Indo-Pacific Strategy” at the end of 2022 and subsequently releasing joint statements in significant diplomatic settings such as the G7 summits, expressing support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Canada has also sent ships multiple times to traverse the Taiwan Strait alongside the US military, demonstrating concrete actions to uphold the current peace in the region. He looks forward to deeper exchanges and discussions on various issues between Taiwan and Canada in the future, aiming to further elevate the bilateral partnership.