Jaushieh Joseph Wu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)
15:00-16:00 Thursday, June 3, 2021
The speech and Q & A will be in English/ Speaker will join the event online.
The Alignment of the Taiwan-Japan Partnership in the Face of Modern Challenges
Japan broke diplomatic tradition by explicitly citing the Taiwan Strait in recent joint leaders' statements with the United States and the European Union. And Japan plans to mention the Strait issue in its annual Defense White Paper to be tabled in July. The United States, Japan's security ally and Taiwan's top arms supplier, has warned that China has a growing capability of invading Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing sees as a Chinese province. Tokyo is increasingly alarmed at the prospect of a conflict right in its backyard, with Taiwan only 110km away from Japan's westernmost island, Yonaguni. Beijing, for its part, has upped the ante over what it calls Japan's repeated "meddling in China's internal affairs".
Japan has also called for Taiwan to join the annual World Health Organization assembly, something China opposes. Japan and Taiwan have close people-to-people ties. Taiwan supplied face masks in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when Japan was grappling with a shortage. Japan is thinking of reciprocating by dipping into its vaccine stockpiles to supply Taiwan, which now needs to ramp up vaccination in the face of an explosive surge in COVID-19 cases.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will address the FCCJ via video call, with a speech provisionally titled "The Alignment of the Taiwan-Japan Partnership in the Face of Modern Challenges." The top diplomat, who assumed his role in 2018, has blamed China for conducting "gray-zone" warfare by spreading fake news intended to undermine public trust in Taiwan's elected government. He also made headlines recently by declaring that Taiwan will fight "to the very last day" in a war with China.
How to attend:
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited to 20 people. Doors open 30 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding.
How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/MzuZxmVAJPsnZkTH6
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form (English only).
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 45 minutes before the event. There will be five positions available for livestreaming.
Professional Activities Committee