Toespraak Jan van Zanen op een bijeenkomst van het Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands, 9 oktober 2025

Representative Chung-Kwang Tien,

Excellencies,

Dear all,

It is wonderful to see you all again.

Here at this gathering, organised by the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands.

I see many friends and acquaintances among you.

Here, in the heart of The Hague.

The city that offers a home to the world.

Thanks to you:

members of the international and Taiwanese community.

Last week, I had the pleasure to meet Apple Wang, born in Taiwan.

Apple is the proud owner of the Pole Inspiration Dance Studio on Tarwekamp, where a devastating explosion took place last year.

The studio re-opened on Saturday, thankfully.

Apple Wang is not the only Taiwanese entrepreneur in our city.

The Hague is home to a number of Taiwanese businesses.

This economic cooperation benefits Taiwan, the Netherlands, and the city of The Hague.

Moreover, Taiwan is recognised for its IT industry.

Just like The Hague, Taiwan has established itself as a centre for cybersecurity.

It follows that there is quite some cooperation and exchange of knowledge between The Netherlands and Taiwan in this field.

Only last week, the city once again hosted the One Conference – the annual, international cybersecurity event.

As part of the event, I had the honour of welcoming a Taiwanese delegation to the World Forum.

There is no need to stress that cybersecurity is higher on the agenda than ever.

In The Hague, we encourage every initiative to improve the security of our digital infrastructure.

Of course, that includes international cooperation.

International cooperation was also the main focus of my visits to Taiwan, in 2010, 2013 and 2017.

That last visit took place during the Eco Mobility World Festival in Kaohsiung.

This, too, is a topic that continues to be high on the agenda, here in The Hague as well.

As cities are growing larger all over the world, the theme of sustainable mobility remains one of the key challenges of our times.

Ever since my very first visit, I have been touched by the hospitality I have enjoyed in Taiwan.

And every time, I was impressed by Taiwan’s economic and cultural achievements.

With all my heart, I hope we will continue to exchange our knowledge and experiences well into the future.

Knowledge and experience are what prepares us to take on the challenges faced by humanity.

I hope that we will also be able to further develop our economic and cultural collaboration.

In peace and prosperity.

After all, we have so much to offer each other.

In that spirit, I wish you and yours all the best.

Thank you.