Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

On the morning of May 26, Vice President Chen Chien-jen attended the opening ceremony of the 2017 International Seminar on Asia-Pacific Cooperative Security. He called for the participants to work together, find diplomatic and political solutions, and mount stronger economic and technical cooperation, thereby enhancing global public health and safety. 

In his remarks, the vice president stated that after the founding of the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO) in 1966, many people in different fields come to realize that collaboration on peace and security had become mandatory and held seminars to discuss various issues in this regard. For the half century that followed, the ISODARCO has organized much needed seminars and courses on security and disarmament issues around the world. These include the first Asia-Pacific security seminar in Taiwan, in 1995, and again in April of 2003 – not even the threat of SARS could stop the seminar; the issues were simply too important. 

Vice President Chen mentioned that the experts and scholars once again came together to identify problems, engage in debates, and resolve issues concerning security in different fields. Every country encounters the dangers and threats from physical ones like missile tests to virtual ones like WannaCry. There is also the threat to global public health. The World Health Assembly was going on (from May 22-31), and Taiwan's 23 million people were not represented. This is both unfortunate and unwise. The entire world is connected by the free movement of people and goods, and gaps in disease control anywhere can threaten people everywhere. 

The vice president specially stressed that to exclude Taiwan from international health decisions for any reason – let alone a single country playing politics – is therefore a serious threat to global public health and safety. This and other security threats require that we come together, find diplomatic and political solutions, and mount stronger economic and technical cooperation. And that is exactly what this seminar had brought together the participants to accomplish. 

Finally, Vice President Chen expressed hope that this seminar would prove to be the perfect opportunity – for the exchange of scientific insights, the forging of connections, and the making of new collaborations that advance our collective security. He once again thanked the ISODARCO for its preparation for the seminar, and wished everyone a fruitful journey.