To:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
November 02, 2021
RE: Calling on the Government of Canada to support Taiwan’s membership to CPTPP.
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
We are writing this letter calling on the Government of Canada to support Taiwan’s membership to CPTPP. Taiwan has been a model trading partner that shares the same core values as Canada. Both countries have democratically elected leaders, rule of laws, respect for human rights, freedom of speech, and protection of intellectual properties. The Taiwanese government has already implemented high standards on issues such as labour and environmental protection; furthermore, it has affirmed the importance of gender equity and indigenous rights. It was highlighted at the fourth meeting of the CPTPP Commission, in a joint statement on June 2, 2021 by Minister Mary Ng, which said that Canada would “welcome the agreement’s expansion to economies able to meet its high-standard commitments on the environment, labour, women’s participation, and much more.”
This makes Taiwan a natural fit for the CPTPP membership.
Taiwan is part of the top 20 largest trading partners to Canada and is evaluated as the fifth-largest economy compared to current CPTPP members. Taiwan is a country that invests strongly in the high tech industries such as semiconductors, renewable energy and information technology. The future of our Canadian economy will heavily rely on Taiwan’s core industries. Both countries embrace free market principle and have adopted similar trading practice. As Canada continues its road to post-pandemic economic recovery, an additional CPTPP trading partner who is inline with Canada’s trading practice can effectively help strengthen the Canadian economy.
The backbone of our Canadian economy relies deeply on strong and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). In recent years, Taiwan has seen a growing high tech and innovative startups that are growing upon an already strong SME industry. Having Taiwan’s accession to CPTPP can further flourish the entrepreneurial spirit between both countries and help increase new Canadian startups and job creation. Many of the Taiwanese-Canadians are established business owners and professionals who have contributed greatly to the Canadian economy and to the well being of Canadians for many years.
Taiwan has proved to be an ally to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be an excellent trading partner. We sincerely ask the Canadian government to support Taiwan’s CPTPP membership application.
Thank you for your commitment to our great nation and for championing Canada on the world stage!
Sincerely,
Shelly Hung
President of the Taiwanese Canadian Association
CC:
Ministers at the Global Affairs Canada
Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario
Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Ottawa, Ontario
