Toespraak door Jan van Zanen op een bijeenkomst van het Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands, 4 oktober 2023

Representative Chen,

Your Excellencies,

Dear guests,

How nice to see you all again.

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

where I see myself surrounded by many friends and acquaintances.

Here, in the heart of The Hague.

The city where the world feels at home.

Thanks to you.

Members of the international and Taiwanese community.

The Hague is home to several Taiwanese companies.

Moreover, Taiwan is known for its IT industry.

Just as the region of The Hague has developed into a centre of cybersecurity.

An area in which the Netherlands and Taiwan also collaborate and share knowledge.

This week, for example, we hosted the One Conference, the annual international cybersecurity event.

On Monday, I was delighted to welcome a Taiwanese delegation to the Atrium of our City Hall.

This was where Hack The Hague took place.

A competition in which ethical hackers try to penetrate the municipality’s computer systems,

and test the digital security of The Hague.

So far, I have been fortunate enough to visit Taiwan three times.

From my very first visit, I was touched by the hospitality I received in Taiwan.

And I have always been impressed by Taiwan’s economic and cultural achievements.

I very much hope that we will be able to continue sharing our knowledge and experience in the future.

Knowledge and experience enable us to tackle the challenges facing humankind.

I also look forward to being able to develop our economic and cultural collaboration even further.

In peace and prosperity.