Seven New Zealand parliamentarians are visiting Taiwan, exploring what the two countries share in common: similar stances on trade and defense, and Austronesian cultural connections.
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00:00Seven New Zealand lawmakers are in Taiwan this week on a six-day trip to boost bilateral relations.
00:06They represent the New Zealand-Taiwan Friendship Group formed in 2023 to increase trade ties
00:12and support stability in the Indo-Pacific. The two island nations have a growing relationship
00:18built on shared values and a surprising number of similarities.
00:22And both their economies have been shaken up by US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
00:28Well we're very great supporters of free trade in New Zealand like Taiwan. We're a trading nation.
00:35I think President Trump is looking for a fair deal and that is actually not a bad place to start.
00:42We need to take a, as they say, breathe through the nose and wait for a little while and see what happens.
00:49And in defence, the countries share a common concern. China.
00:54In February, China sailed naval ships through the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia
01:01and launched a live fire drill. Live firing exercises in the Tasman Sea with very short notice
01:09the US was dangerous and I think we would consider it good manners for people to give a lot of warning
01:20if they were going to do that. But we do, I want to emphasise, support freedom of navigation.
01:26All these similarities mean New Zealand has become an increasingly vocal supporter of Taiwan.
01:33In 2020, the country's foreign minister, Winston Peters, advocated for Taiwan's inclusion
01:38in the World Health Organisation. A New Zealand Navy vessel sailed through the Taiwan Strait last year,
01:44something Taiwan's representative in New Zealand, Joanne Oh, called a welcome sign of friendship.
01:50From our view, I do believe the policy of New Zealand government towards Taiwan and China has been
01:57consistent. And then what we want to acknowledge here is for the New Zealand government to have
02:05voiced the support for shared values, for democracies, human rights and protection of freedom.
02:14And as we talk about this freedom of navigation.
02:16This week's visit is the second made by the Friendship Group. And one of the focuses? Taiwan's Indigenous communities.
02:25One of the interesting things from our visit to Ulai was the similarities around language
02:32and I guess some of the cultural components that exist within that. So naturally as a member of
02:37you know the Labour caucus around the Pacific caucus and my team, I'll be having conversations
02:42with colleagues around how we can look to advance some of the issues that are important
02:46the language is very similar in many respects. Although New Zealand and Taiwan are separated by some
02:529,000 kilometres, the trip this week showed the two countries have plenty in common.
02:58Whether it's defence or Indigenous issues, the two seem determined to learn from each other.
03:04Ryan Wu, Ed Moon and Lauren Padamore for Taiwan Plus.