President: Continue to Enhance Self-Defense and Build Resilient Democratic Supply Chains

President Lai Ching-te stated on the 28th that in the face of global changes, democratic partners must not only share values but also build a cooperative system of mutual support to address challenges. Taiwan will continue to enhance its self-defense capabilities and deepen cooperation with like-minded countries in countering disinformation, cybersecurity, and critical technologies to build resilient democratic supply chains. During a meeting with guests of the 'Democratic Cooperation Forum' this afternoon, the President noted that the 'Forum 2000: Democratic Cooperation Forum' was held in Taiwan for the first time yesterday. He thanked the Forum 2000 Foundation, founded by former Czech President Václav Havel nearly 30 years ago, for its steadfast defense of democracy and human rights. The President pointed out that the foundation has maintained close exchanges with Taiwan in recent years. He expressed confidence that the forum's focus on democratic cooperation, economic security, and democratic resilience would lead to further collaboration. Taiwan will continue to share experiences in countering disinformation, cyber threats, and high-tech governance, and work with partners to build resilient supply chains through semiconductor and critical technology exchanges. The President emphasized that 'history tells us that while authoritarianism may use coercion to create fear, the unity and trust among democratic nations will eventually become a solid force for freedom.' Jakub Klepal, Executive Director of the Forum 2000 Foundation, stated that a key consensus of the forum is that the democratic camp must actively cooperate to address threats from authoritarian regimes like China and Russia, and that Taiwan will be a core hub for such cooperation.