Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we'll come back to the forum, and now we will proceed to the third keynote speech.

We are very honored to have Honorable Nicky Haley, former United States ambassador to the United Nations USA as our keynote speaker today.

Before we welcome her to the stage, I would like to first invite our host, Mr. Ravis Chenli Gu, Vice Minister of World Affairs of the Republic of China, Taiwan, to introduce the keynote speaker. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome. Welcome.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

We are privileged to be joined today by an extraordinary leader with an unwavering dedication to public services and international diplomacy. Her Excellency, Nikki Hay, to be not used as ambassador to the United Nations, is a prominent figure on the global stage, known for her approach to politics and her strong defense of democracy. Throughout her distinguished career, Ambassador Haley has striven to build consensus among free democratic countries and has been a vocal advocate for robust cooperation between like-minded partners. She recognizes that security and prosperity are best achieved through strong alliances. At the United Nations, Ambassador Haley was a powerful voice for human rights, justice, and peace. She consistently spoke up for democratic values and currently addressed threats to global stability. During her term as US ambassador, she did not shy away from highlighting the strategic importance of Taiwan and advocating for its inclusion in international mechanisms. Prior her to Prior to her UN posting, Ambassador Haley made history as the first Indian-American woman to be elected governor of South Carolina. During her two terms in office, she championed economic growth, educational reform, and health care improvements, leaving a lasting legacy in the Palmero state. The Tauvi's people deeply appreciate Ambassador Haley's friendship and support.

China. She has a keen understanding of Taiwan and its strategic role in the Indo-Pacific. Last year, she famously said, The United States should let China know that there will be hell to pain if it touch Taiwan. She has also highlighted the importance of Ukraine rebuffing Russia's invasion to deter China's expansionist ambitions. In addition to her distinguished career, in public service. Ambassador Haley is a best-selling author and the founder of Stand For Marriott, and an advocacy group focused on promoting policies that strengthen US freedom and security. Through her writings and speeches, she continues to inspire audiences to actively engage in shaping a better world. As we navigate today's complex security dynamics in the Indopacif region, Ambassador Haley's insights will undoubtedly enrich our discussions and give us valuable guidance. Her unique vantage point allows her to identify effective pathways to regional stability and growth. So please join me in giving a warm round applause to welcome Ambassador Haley. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you, Vice Minister Chen. And let us welcome Honorable Lucy Haynie for her speech. Welcome.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Vice Minister Chen, for that introduction. And thank you for being such a strong defender of Taiwan and a partner to America. I'd also like to thank Dr. Lai for the invitation to speak. You're doing critical work at the Prospect Foundation, and Taiwan is stronger for your efforts. Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the former Prime Minister of Slovakia, Edward Haider. Slovakia, like Taiwan, knows the importance of standing strong against foreign pressure from bigger countries. Prime Minister, we're honored for your presence. This is my first trip to Taiwan, and I have to say I am amazed by what I've seen. I've proudly stood with Taiwan for years, especially in my time as the US ambassador to the United Nations. But nothing could have prepared me for being here. Taiwan is a place of courage, confidence, and unwavering resolve. The West could learn a lot from you. And today, I'm calling on my country and free nations everywhere to follow your example. We need to stand as strong as Taiwan, and we need to stand strong with Taiwan, now more than ever. We are living in the most dangerous times in decades.

The enemies of freedom are on the march. With few exceptions, the free nations of the West are in retreat. They refuse to maintain, much less improve their strength. They're failing their most important job, which is to ensure their people's security. And sure enough, their lack of leadership has led to crisis after crisis. Let's hold a little thought experiment. Think back 10 to 15 years to the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession. At the time, it was already clear that Communist China, Russia, Iran, and others were preparing for confrontation with the West. Now imagine if the West had recognized that fact and acted accordingly. The United States, our European allies, and our Asian allies and partners would have immediately begun rebuilding our military. We would have put aside dreams of bigger welfare states in favor of building stronger economies. We would have rallied our friends and allies to stand united, and we would have been honest with our people about the breadth and the death of the threats that we face. Far from being a message of despair, it would have been a message of hope. We would have told them that we're preparing to prevent war and keep a lasting peace.

If we had said that, and if we had done what we needed to do, the West would be strong today. As a result, our world would be significantly more safe and secure. If the West was strong, Afghanistan would never have fallen to the Taliban. That country would still be free, and terrorism wouldn't have a new home base for global attacks. If the West was strong, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin would have known that the cost is too high and the chance of victory, too low. We would have peace in Eastern Europe, not a two and a half year war that's grinding on without an end. If the West was strong, the Middle East wouldn't be in flames. Iran would be crippled by economic sanctions and incapable of building a nuclear weapon. Its terrorist proxies wouldn't have nearly as many rockets to be so aggressive. There would be no attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Syria and Lebanon could have broken free from Iran's grasp. And Hamas would not have succeeded in its barbaric massacre on October seventh. They would have been too weak and too scared to launch the attack. Finally, imagine what a strong West would have meant for Asia, and especially, Taiwan.

Today, China would be surrounded by free nations with strong forces capable of defeating its aggressive expansion. The Communist Party would have thought twice before militarizing the South China Sea. They would have stepped back from harassing Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan. And China's mistreatment of Taiwan would be vastly diminished. Why? Because the United States and our allies would have Taiwan's back. This island not only be safe militarily, but on the world stage, Taiwan would have the full diplomatic and economic support of the free world. China would know that invading Taiwan is not an option. And if it tried, not only would it fail, but the Communist Party would fall. Imagine if that was the world that we lived in today. It could have been, and it should have been. And now the worst thing we could do is to let the next year's follow the same path. We can't afford a continued slide toward weakness and war. The West must launch a historic effort to rebuild our strength, and we have no time to waste. The first and most important thing we must do is to modernize our military. Nuclear Submarines, stealth bombs, and warships can't be constructed overnight, so we should start building more immediately.

In the meantime, we can ship more assets to the Eastern Pacific, and we urgently need to ramp up production of anti-shift and air defense systems. That includes the cutting edge technology that's key for defense, including drones and autonomous vehicles and weapons. We also need to launch an immediate economic buildup. The US should sign a free trade agreement with Taiwan. That would benefit both of us while weakening China's economic leverage. It would take some time to forge even closer economic ties and shift trade routes. So the sooner we start, the better. Finally, we need a diplomatic Eclipse. The United States must elevate Taiwan on the world's stage. You should no longer be silenced in global affairs. Given the strength of your freedom and democracy, you should be empowered to speak. When you do, you show the stark contrast with Communist China's tyranny. Taiwan has been a victim of a great injustice for more than 50 years. When the United Nations passed Resolution 2758 in 1971, it gave the Communist Party the right to represent China. Ever since, Beijing has claimed that that resolution makes Taiwan a part of China. But it doesn't. The resolution doesn't mention Taiwan at all.

The US and our allies should have called that out from the start. But instead, Beijing continues to call the shots. Ever since, the Communist Party has successfully shoved Taiwan aside. I saw this injustice firsthand. From the moment I arrived at the United Nations, I made clear that I would have the back of America's friends and call out our enemies as needed. I backed Israel, Ukraine, and many others. When it came to Taiwan, I was shocked to find out that you aren't even allowed in the building. On China's orders, the UN refuses to recognize any form of identification issued by the Taiwanese government. That means no one with a Taiwanese passport can set foot inside a UN facility. Not your elected leaders, not your journalists, not even your students. Chinese. None of them can enter the United Nations because China has convinced the world that the 24 million people in Taiwan effectively do not exist. We fought hard to change this. It actually resulted in a Chinese temper tantrum that went all the way up to the Secretary General, who caved. While you're stuck on the outside, China has worked every angle from the inside. I saw that, too.

If anyone at the UN so much as mentions Taiwan, the Communist Party goes crazy. They demand that everyone refers to you as a, province of China. They even demanded that a US high school change its website before being allowed in the UN building. China also blocks the UN from working working with NGOs unless they say, Taiwan is part of Communist China. The Communist Party has changed historic UN documents to eliminate any reference to accept it, Taiwan. Keep in mind this is the same United Nations that's obsessed with the Palestinians. The UN has set up agencies devoted to them. Other bodies have standing items on Palestinian issues. And in May, the General Assembly voted in support of full Palestinian membership, with China's full support. Talk about Chinese and UN hypocrisy. There are nearly five times as many Taiwanese. The United Nations should stop ignoring me. China has also spent decades convincing countries to revoke their recognition of Taiwan. Today, a The year of 12 nations have diplomatic relations with you. That number is steadily following. Three Pacific Island nations have abandoned Taiwan in the last five years alone. They decided to stand with China. They couldn't withstand the bullying and the intimidation.

The good news is that some countries are warming up to Taiwan, even in the face of Chinese pressure. Lithuania opened a Taiwanese representative office in 2021, while Estonia has said it's willing to do the same. China tried to bully them in the back and down, but they refuse. Every country should have such courage. And to be clear, courage is necessary. Whenever Taiwanese officials visit Europe, China reacts with rage and threats. And when the Philippines congratulated their incoming President earlier this year, China summoned their ambassador and warned them, not to play with father. Such treatment is insulting to sovereign nations. And China's treatment of Taiwan hurts the whole world. That fact was on full display in the early stages of the pandemic. To your ever-lasting credit, Taiwan recognized the danger before anyone else. In late 2019, it was your government who warned the World Health Organization about the COVID virus coming from China. But the WHO might as well be a Chinese subsidiary. They don't recognize Taiwan, so they ignore you. And while you prepared for the worst with the effective policy, the WHO downplayed the threat until it was too late, and millions of people died.

If China didn't block Taiwan from WHO membership, the pandemic would have taken a much different turn. Fewer people would have died, and fewer countries would have crippled their economies and curtailed their people's freedom. China has yet to take responsibility for what it did to the world. But Taiwan was the responsible one from the very start. Taiwan's pandemic leadership proves that you deserve a global voice. Taiwan shouldn't just be in the WHO. Taiwan should be a full member in the United Nations. You have every right to sit at the same table with the world's countries. In many respects, you've proven that you have more of a right than most. Taiwan has made tremendous contributions to humanity. You are global leaders in medicine, science, and technology. In fact, without Taiwan, the tech revolution of the last three decades wouldn't have had them. To this day, Taiwan accounts for nearly two-thirds of the world's semiconductor production. While others are fixated on China's growth in advanced technology, in many respects, China is trying to catch up to Taiwan. For that reason alone, the US and free nation should embrace Taiwan with open arms. And if that's not reason enough, your commitment to shared security is inspiring.

Taiwan spends two and a half % of its GDP on defense, and you've increased defense spending for seven years straight. I applaud you, and I wish other free nations would learn from you, especially many US allies. You're ahead of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and many other countries, both big and small. And Taiwan's defense spending is twice as high as Canada's. If all our allies leaned in like Taiwan, the world would be a safer place. Given your leadership, the US and the West should relentlessly push for global acceptance of Taiwan. Naturally, China will fight this. Beijing will threaten more if the United States and other countries support Taiwan. For all its strength, China isn't strong enough to conquer you. But it will be eventually, since China is spending 12 to 13 times more than Taiwan on defense. That's why the West needs to move quickly. We should stand with Taiwan today, not wait until China invades. If we take the necessary steps now, China will think twice about starting a war. We need to act regardless of how the Communist Party reacts. It will ramp up threatening maneuvers off your shores and in your skies.

It will rail against us with threats of health wire and brimstone. It will even claim that we support Taiwan's independence and say that we've crossed a red line. But that's not true. And in any case, that's not a decision for the US or any other nation to make. You have the right to self-determination, and our support for you should not be dependent on the decision that you make. We can't let China's response dictate our decisions. For decades, it has threatened free nations into silence and inaction, but now is no time for silence. Years of inaction and looking the other way have only weakened us. By listening to China, we've wasted precious time. And now we've made war more likely, not less. We can still prevent that future and keep the peace by rebuilding our strength and our resolve. It's time to stop letting fear of China-controlled democracies. And we should finally recognize that no one is more afraid of the Chinese Communist Party than the Chinese Communist Party. They're terrified of a free Taiwan. They have good reason to be worried. The 24 million people who live in Taiwan prove that China's 1.4 4 billion people can do better than communist tyranny.

You show they don't have to be herded into labor camps. They don't have to be censored and torqued and executed for speaking out. War and destruction are all that communism understands. Free people are capable of peaceful creation, the kind that has lifted this island to such incredible heights. So long as Taiwan is democratic and free, you remind the enslaved masses in mainland China of the future that could and should be theirs. You keep alive the hope that such a future is within their grasp. A future where they finally cast off the shackles of communist dictatorship and finally take charge of their own destiny. This, more than anything, is why the West must embrace Taiwan without exception or apologies. We should have fought harder when China shoved you aside years ago. Now we should write that wrong. There's still time. Our security and prosperity are bound together. For the sake of our people and the cause of peace, we have a duty to stand together. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much, on our going to be really pretty, excellent keynote speech. Thank you very much.

Thank you once again.

I'm happy to have you with us today. We're doing such a wonderful speech. Thank you. Thank you very much. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we will proceed to our next panel discussion titled The Purpose and Challenges of digital democracy, how digital authoritarian leadership is split through false information and affects democracy. I would like to now invite our moderator and panelists to join us on stage. There are five panelists in this session, respectively from USA, Israel, and España, Canada, and Taiwan. If you can, gentlemen, please give them a big round of applause as we welcome them to join us on stage. Welcome. I'm listening now.

Welcome.

Our moderator for this session is Mr. Youzhi Ha, co-director of Taiwan Information Environment Research Center. Please take a seat. Welcome. Thank you. I can have the opportunity to Mr. Youzhi.

Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. How are you today? Welcome to Panel 3. We're talking about this information and digital authoritarianism in the final panel of this forum. My name is Jihau. I work at Taiwan Information Environment Research Center, or better known as IORJ International. We are a scientific research organization, and we run also digital civics educational programs for schools and communities across Taiwan, with the goal of informing public discourse and strengthening democratic resilience. Today, during lunch, I hope you heard the keynote speech by Prime Minister.