Liang Kuang-chung, representative of the Taipei Mission in Korea, delivers a speech during a reception commemorating Taiwan's 111th national day at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Oct. 6. Courtesy of Taipei Mission in Korea

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The Taipei Mission in Korea celebrated the country's 111th national day with an event at a hotel in Seoul, Oct. 6.

Also known as Double Ten Day, the day falls on Oct. 10, commemorating the beginning of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, which brought an end to the Qing Dynasty and led the establishment of the Republic of China.

Taiwan's Envoy to Korea Liang Kuang-chung welcomed the return of the celebration after a two-year hiatus since his arrival in Korea in July.

He introduced how both Korea and Taiwan are coping with the pandemic.

"With the efforts of the government and the people, Korean society is gradually getting back to normal by implementing the Living with COVID-19 policy… Taiwan has shown the world how to effectively fight the pandemic while complementing liberal democracy and economic resilience," Liang said.

The Taiwanese diplomat noted that Taiwan and Korea are democratic and economic partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

"In recent years, our exchanges and cooperation in various fields have grown steadily, and have had fruitful and visible gains," he said.

"In terms of economy and trade, Taiwan and Korea are each other's fifth-largest trading partners. Despite the epidemic, the total bilateral trade volume still bucked the trend... It shows that Taiwan and Korea are solid and mutually beneficial trading partners."

The two countries are also closely intertwined as the economy and security are inseparable nowadays.

"Taiwan and Korea are both major semiconductor producers and indispensable members of the global supply chain," Liang said, adding that he hopes to sign further agreements on bilateral investment and economic cooperation to improve bilateral economic cooperation mechanisms and maintain the resilience of the global supply chain.

Taiwan resumed visa-free entry for Korean passport holders on Sept. 29 and will move from a three-day mandatory quarantine to a seven-day self-health management system, which is hoped to help bring back Korean visitors.

Before the pandemic, the number of mutual visits between Taiwan and Korea exceeded 2.45 million in 2019 with more than 300 flights a week.

Liang expressed Taiwan's hope that exchanges and interactions between the two countries will be more active than ever.

The envoy also voiced support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"Taiwan notices the 'audacious initiative' issued by the government of ROK. We welcome the efforts made by the Korean government to build sustainable peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region and support the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue," he said.

"In the future, we look forward to continuing working with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard universal values and maintain a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region."