Republic of China (Taiwan) Ambassador Wallace Chow, on the invitation of Speaker Sabino Anastacio of the House of Delegates, delivered a speech on Palau-Taiwan bilateral relations and general strategic situation in the Pacific at the HOD opening session on October 8.
Ambassador Chow took around 20 minutes to speak about Taiwan’s partnership and footprints in Palau since TTM’s setup in 1980s, democracy-versus-authoritarianism strategic rivalry in the Pacific, the real reason behind recent Chinese diplomatic offensive, and the troubling situation in China. His speech was informative and intriguing, won rounds of applause and a standing ovation at the end.
When covering the strategic rivalry in the Pacific, Ambassador Chow said China is turning assertive to aggressive, exporting problematic items like debt trap, corruption, environmental hazards, and illegal immigrants. He also warned those who chose to have close relations with China may have short-term benefits, but the long-term problems may be loss of ownership to land and erosion of sovereignty and autonomy.
On Taiwan and China’s diplomatic competition, Ambassador Chow highlighted Chinese regime’s tremendous internal and external problems and suggested they may have driven China to resort to reckless acts like snatching Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and upsetting stability in the region.
Ambassador Chow delivers speech at the Palau House of Delegates
Ambassador Chow delivers speech at the Palau House of Delegates
