The new coronavirus epidemic has heightened Canada’s wariness of China and furthered its ties with Taiwan. Just after the conclusion of the Canada-Taiwan Connect Forum, which was held over four consecutive weekends, Canadian experts called on Ottawa to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations, as it is in Canada’s interest as well as in the interest of balanced regional development.
The “Canada-Taiwan Connection Forum” invited a number of experts who are well versed in the relationship between Canada and Taiwan to share their views. As the neo-coronavirus epidemic ravages the world and rekindles the Western world’s thinking about its high economic dependence on China, Professor Hsing Chi von Bergmann of the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Dentistry, who participated in the Canada-Taiwan Forum on the closing day of the conference, said that Canada has long been dependent on China for medical supplies, but this epidemic has made Canada realize that it is completely dependent on China for its supply side. Risks arise. What’s more, while Chinese-made goods are cheap, their quality cannot be trusted. This is best exemplified by the fact that Canada has received failed masks, protective clothing, and testing agents from China, while Taiwan has a reputation for manufacturing excellence. In her own words, Kouki Yamane said that a batch of masks donated by Taiwanese authorities to Canada and sent to her dental school was highly praised. After using the masks donated to our dental school, our colleagues immediately asked our dean, “Where did this mask come from? How so comfortable, he said he wanted to buy them for his own clinic. So Taiwan’s donation of masks immediately does the function of economic diplomacy.”
He said that Taiwan’s land area is larger than Belgium, its population is about the same as Australia’s, and its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) ranks 22nd in the world, but its per capita GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms is even higher than Canada’s. Taiwan is Canada’s 13th largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of about $8 billion. Taiwan is Canada’s thirteenth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume of about C$8 billion, and import and export products mainly in science and technology, biochemical, clean energy and other high-end products. He also mentioned that Canada and Taiwan share common values, emphasizing economic development as well as the environment, labour, human rights and liberal democracy. Mr. Shi urged the Canadian government to assist Taiwan in improving its international standing, as it is in Canada’s interest to help stabilize security in the Asia-Pacific region. “Canada, as one of the founders of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Progress (CPTPP), should assist Taiwan in joining the agreement, and Canada should also sign an investment protection agreement with Taiwan to further deepen economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.”
Hugh Stephens, Canada’s former representative in Taiwan and now a senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, made the same point last week when he appeared on a panel at the “Ketagalan Forum-2020 Asia Pacific Security Dialogue”. He added that when Canada established diplomatic relations with China, the communiqué used the words “take note of China’s position” on China’s “one China principle” and did not “acknowledge” the “one China principle. “(recognize) that Taiwan belongs to China, and the Canadian government has been too cautious in developing relations with Taiwan over the past few years.
Tsai Chun-sung, a Taiwanese overseas affairs commissioner representing Canada, is disappointed with Prime Minister Trudeau’s cowardly attitude toward China. “The Liberal Party is still relatively pro-China, and it’s hard to change the government very much, so we still have to keep trying. It may change after the election, and I think it’s still the Conservatives who are more friendly to Taiwan.”
Canada’s Parliament will resume on Sept. 23, when a vote of confidence in the Trudeau government will take place, and a failure to vote by half would trigger a new federal election.
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