On the morning of January 1, President Lai Ching-te delivered his 2025 New Year’s Address, titled “Bolstering National Strength through Democracy to Enter a New Global Landscape,” in the Reception Hall of the Presidential Office. President Lai stated that today’s Taiwan is receiving international recognition for its performance in many areas, among them democracy, technology, and economy. In this new year, he said, Taiwan must be united, and we must continue on the right course.

On the afternoon of December 26, President Lai Ching-te presided over the second meeting of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee.

On the afternoon of December 22, President Lai Ching-te attended the 2024 Presidential Hackathon awards ceremony. In remarks, President Lai praised the winning teams for proposing innovative solutions in the areas of health promotion and digital and net-zero development.

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said Dec. 10 that Taiwan is committed to working with global partners to promote international order based on the rule of law.

On the morning of December 10, President Lai Ching-te presented the 2024 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award to Bangladesh-based human rights organization Odhikar. In his remarks, President Lai recognized Odhikar’s dedication to promoting the human and political rights of the citizens of Bangladesh and courageously forging ahead in the pursuit of democracy and human rights. The president emphasized that defending democracy requires all the strength we can muster. He stated that the government

President Lai Ching-te said Dec. 7 that Taiwan remains firmly committed to freedom, democracy, and human rights and the rule of law in cooperation with the nation’s people to build a just and sustainable country.

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim met with delegations from the U.S. National Committee on American Foreign Policy and Australian Strategic Policy Institute Dec. 5 in Taipei City, welcoming their visits at a time of rapid geopolitical change, according to the Presidential Office.

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim Nov. 25 expressed hope of integrating the domestic legal services sector with the international market to promote global rule of law.

On the afternoon of November 20, the Presidential Office held a press conference for our delegation to the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) upon its return to Taiwan.

After a trilateral meeting of the defense ministers of the United States, Japan, and Australia on November 17 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, the three ministers issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) expressed gratitude to our international partners for placing attention and emphasis on the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the region at large.