A reception was held by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Chennai in celebration of the 108th National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on October 9, 2019. Over 200 Central and Tamil Nadu state government officials, members of the Diplomatic Corps, MLA, Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, professors and students of universities, representatives of think tanks, Indian private companies managing directors, NGOs, Taiwanese companies and compatriots were present to share the jubilant and family-like gathering.
A short video entitled “Brave and Confident – One with the World” was screened to commence the reception. In delivering his address, Director-General Mr. Charles C. Li, briefed the audience with a short history of the Republic of China, which was established in 1911 on the Chinese Mainland and the first republic in Asia. Director-General Charles C. Li elaborated that the capability and willingness of the people of R.O.C. (Taiwan) to contribute in all possible ways to realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in partnership with all stakeholders, especially in south India. In addition, it wishes to join forces with like-minded countries to maintain peace and stability in Taiwan Strait and the region.
Director-General Li highlighted the unsung heroic roles Taiwanese companies play in South India, in particular Tamil Nadu, that create more than 100 thousand employment opportunities, thus contribute to the trade volumes and economic growth of India over the years. The bilateral relations between Taiwan and south India have demonstrated an increasing trend in the past 4 years. The number of visa issued in the first 9 months of 2019 already doubles that of the previous year. Quite a few Taiwanese delegations came over to Chennai to identify an additional operation site to enhance their strength of global business strategic deployment. Likewise we witnessed even closer interactions in trade, investment, higher education and NGO collaboration between the two countries.
The World Economic Forum published The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 on October 9, in which Taiwan’s Overall Score is ranked 12th among the 141 countries surveyed;on Macro-economic Stability Taiwan is ranked 1st together with other 33 countries;on Innovative Capability Taiwan is the 4th. Mr. Charles C. Li concluded by saying that the R.O.C. (Taiwan) has navigated challenges and obstacles over the years, its 23.6 million people remain brave and confident, committed to freedom and democracy, friendly and passionate, hard-working and innovative. They are willing to enhance the partnerships and to consolidate amicable, complementary and mutually beneficial collaboration with Indian partners in all possible sectors.