A cross-party Taiwan friendship group from the New Zealand Parliament visited the Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) today (April 17) to meet President Tsai Ing-wen. Chief delegate Stuart Smith expressed hope for a long-lasting and prosperous relationship between Taiwan and New Zealand.
President Tsai Ing-wen welcomed the visit of the New Zealand Parliament’s cross-party Taiwan friendship group led by Chief delegate Stuart Smith. The delegation included New Zealand Parliament members Jamie Arbuckle, Greg Fleming, Hamish Campbell, Cameron Luxton, and Helen White. They were accompanied by Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu and Representative to New Zealand Oliver Weng, visiting the Presidential Office to meet President Tsai.
During his speech, President Tsai Ing-wen first welcomed the distinguished guests to Taiwan. He noted that two years ago, New Zealand legislators established the “Cross-Party Taiwan Friendship Group,” marking a significant milestone in deepening Taiwan-New Zealand relations. He expressed special thanks to Member Smith and Member Tangi Utikere for leading the group’s visit, as well as gratitude to all visitors for their support shown through action towards Taiwan.
President Tsai Ing-wen stated that the current international situation is changing rapidly, with authoritarianism continuing to gather and expand. Democratic countries must actively cooperate to uphold peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region together. “We sincerely appreciate the New Zealand government’s repeated emphasis on the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait since last year. On behalf of the Taiwanese people, I express heartfelt gratitude for this support and solidarity.”
“With the full implementation of the Taiwan-New Zealand Economic Cooperation Agreement this year, we hope that Taiwan and New Zealand can together explore more diverse markets. Whether in smart agriculture, food manufacturing, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, digital economy, clean energy, or indigenous exchanges, we can deepen cooperation in all areas to ensure continuous progress for both economies and industries, in response to the challenges of the changing world,” Tsai Ing-wen said.
He highlighted that Taiwan and New Zealand share universal values of democracy, freedom, and human rights, and parliamentary diplomacy is a tradition of democratic countries. He looks forward to closer parliamentary exchanges and personnel visits between both sides, discovering more opportunities for cooperation to deepen and solidify the democratic partnership between Taiwan and New Zealand.
In conclusion, President Tsai Ing-wen once again thanked all visitors for coming from afar, wishing them a successful and fulfilling trip. He also hoped that everyone would take some precious time to explore Taiwan, taste its delicacies, and learn about Taiwanese culture, with the hope that the visitors would fall in love with Taiwan.
Chief delegate Stuart Smith expressed in his speech that he was very pleased and honored to meet President Tsai. Earlier on, President Tsai had mentioned many points he wanted to discuss. He emphasized that Taiwan and New Zealand indeed share many values. “Both Taiwan and New Zealand are trading nations, relying on smooth imports and exports. This is why the freedom of navigation is so important and why New Zealand dispatches naval ships through the Taiwan Strait to emphasize the importance of this for our mutual security.”
Smith mentioned, “We look forward to establishing a closer relationship with Taiwan and promoting trade between the two countries. New Zealand has much to offer Taiwan in the geothermal energy sector. Moreover, New Zealand is the third-largest producer of satellite launchers, and in the future, this may also be helpful to Taiwan in terms of communications, among other products. New Zealand also hopes to receive technical assistance from Taiwan and is looking forward to establishing a long-lasting and prosperous relationship between Taiwan and New Zealand.”
Co-delegate Tangi Utikere stated in his speech, “Taiwan and New Zealand are both island nations surrounded by the sea, so we need to build strong partnerships with like-minded partners around the world.” The establishment of the New Zealand Parliament’s “Cross-Party Taiwan Friendship Group” is crucial for promoting stable, secure, and prosperous relations between the two parliaments and continuously deepening bilateral relations.
Utikere thanked Oliver Weng and his team at the Taiwan Representative Office in New Zealand for ensuring that the delegation’s itinerary proceeded smoothly and successfully. He mentioned that during this trip, they interacted with many government officials, legislative representatives, and members of non-profit organizations. He also expressed great pleasure in having the opportunity to visit the “Wulai Atayal Museum,” allowing them to better understand the deep connections between Taiwanese indigenous culture and New Zealand indigenous culture.
Utikere stated that as President Tsai mentioned in his speech, “I hope the delegation will have the opportunity to explore Taiwan.” In the coming days, he will visit Tainan. He knows that Tainan is a place of great importance to President Tsai, so he is looking forward to the itinerary in Tainan and hopes that the relationship between Taiwan and New Zealand will be more solid and continued deepening.
Subsequently, the delegation together sang the Maori song “TŪTIRA MAI NGĀ IWI,” expressing blessings for Taiwan.