President Lai Ching-te has used his National Day address to call for peace
across the Taiwan Strait, while defending increased military spending and
outlining measures to improve living standards.

The speech comes as Taiwan celebrates the Republic of China's 115th National
Day, with foreign dignitaries, cultural performances, and military displays.

The following is the full English translation of his speech provided by the
Presidential Office, titled "Taiwan's Future: A City upon a Hill, the Salt
and Light of the World."

National Day Celebration Chairperson Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Vice President Bi-khim
Hsiao, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom
of Eswatini, Inkhosikati Make Zuma, Japan-Taiwan Diet Members' Consultative
Council Chairman Furuya Keiji, heads of delegations from diplomatic allies
and friendly nations, members of the foreign diplomatic corps stationed in
Taiwan, distinguished guests from home and abroad, and my fellow citizens
here in person and watching on TV or online: Good morning.

Today, we are gathered here in front of the Presidential Office Building to
celebrate the National Day of the Republic of China, to praise Taiwan, and to
wish our nation a happy birthday and continued prosperity. At this moment,
here in Taiwan and in different corners of the world, no matter the
generation to which you belong, and no matter your profession or political
stance, we are all rooted in the same Taiwan. And we share a responsibility,
which is to make our country safer, our society more stable, our lives
better, and to give the next generation hope for the future. This year marks
the 30th anniversary of Taiwan's first direct presidential election.

Thirty years ago, our citizens went to the polls, showing their courage in
the face of missile threats, to fulfill their century-long dream of becoming
the masters of their own destinies. With the ballots they cast, they told the
world: This nation belongs to its people, and the future of Taiwan will be
decided by the people of Taiwan. Over those 30 years, we transformed into a
democracy, we saw the peaceful transition of power between political parties,
and we endured many challenges. Today, we know with even more certainty that
freedom and democracy do not run counter to economic development. As Taiwan
more tightly embraces democracy and engages more closely with the world, it
is more able to create prosperity and more capable of contributing to the
world.

The last year has not been a quiet one for the world. War and authoritarian
expansion continue to spread. The global economy underwent a host of
challenges, such as tariffs, energy issues, and red supply chains. But Taiwan
did not back down; despite the changing circumstances, it stood firm, with a
resilience we can be proud of. Just look at the recent accomplishments of our
athletes at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. In soft tennis mixed doubles, Yu
Kai-wen (余凱文) and Huang Shih-yuan (黃詩媛) fought for every point to clinch
Taiwan's first gold of the games. Swimmer Wang Kuan-hung (王冠閎) powered
through the water to realize our 28-year-long hope for gold.

Fu Chao-hsuan (傅兆玄) leapt through the pouring rain to win the gold in high
jump, Taiwan's first Asian Games men's track and field gold in 60 years.
Neither did Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) disappoint, taking home gold for the second
consecutive Asian Games. Taiwan dominated the top two spots in women's tennis
doubles, with Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and Liang En-shuo (梁恩碩) taking gold and Chan
Hao-ching (詹皓晴) and Wu Fang-hsien (吳芳嫺) taking silver. I want to thank all
our athletes for showing the world Taiwan's resilience and pride.

I would also like to thank the people of Taiwan, in all sectors and
professions, for our impressive economic performance. Our most up-to-date
economic growth rate for just the first half of the year is 14.15 percent,
and we could see a rate exceeding 11 percent for the year as a whole, which
would be a 39-year high. Our per capita GDP is projected to reach US$45,332
this year, almost double that of 2016.

The TAIEX rose over the historic 49,000-point mark, making Taiwan's stock
market the world's fourth biggest in terms of market capitalization. Taiwan
is also going farther, step by step, with our diplomacy. I made a state visit
to the Kingdom of Eswatini earlier this year. I would like to thank His
Majesty King Mswati III for the thoughtful reception, and Her Majesty the
Queen Mother and all the people of Eswatini for the warm welcome. Together,
we witnessed our countries' bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy,
agriculture, healthcare, women's empowerment, and education and culture.

Also this year, Vice President Hsiao visited the Republic of Palau to deepen
our bilateral cooperation in such areas as healthcare, agriculture and
fisheries, infrastructure, and sustainable tourism. And just last month, she
was invited to speak at the European Conference of Ventotene for Freedom and
Democracy in Italy, allowing Taiwan's voice to be heard by the world from a
place that is an important symbol of freedom and democracy in Europe.

In this year's World Competitiveness Ranking compiled by the Swiss-based
Institute for Management Development, Taiwan placed highly in its four major
factors of economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency,
and infrastructure, and it climbed up to fourth globally, our best
performance to date. These achievements, without a doubt, are owed to the 23
million people of Taiwan. They are the result of every ounce of strength
given by the government and countless citizens, across all fields, working
hand in hand. Let us have another warm round of applause in celebration of
your accomplishments.

In this era marked by war, authoritarian expansion, and a rapidly shifting
global order, what kind of nation should Taiwan strive to be? My answer is
this: We must become a "city upon a hill," built with courage and confidence.
This is not to sing our own praises, but rather to declare our aspirations
for the nation's future. It is also a responsibility Taiwan stands ready to
shoulder. My fellow citizens, this city upon a hill is built atop a chain of
guardian mountains. It is the splendid outcome of democratic governance which
grants us a solid basis for peace of mind.

A city upon a hill, therefore, should have more than just a dazzling skyline;
it must stand on a firm foundation. The well-being of our people is the very
foundation of Taiwan. National progress lies not merely in output value and
exports, but in increasing benefits and pay for our workers, alleviating the
burden on families, providing care for the older generation, and giving our
youth the confidence that their hard work will pave the way to a brighter
future. We are therefore taking a pragmatic approach to governance, promoting
higher salaries, lower taxes, increased benefits, and reduced burdens so that
each and every individual in this nation can stand steady and live well.

To address the declining birthrate, we are building upon our national
childcare policy for ages 0-6, and have proposed a new population strategy
for Taiwan in the area of family support. This includes increased subsidies,
lighter loads, greater flexibility, and expanded care from the stages of
childbirth and childrearing to education, making support for families even
more comprehensive. Starting next year, we are on track to launch NT$5,000
monthly allowances for every child, from birth until age 18.

By combining this with maternity benefits and subsidies for assisted
reproduction, affordable childcare, family-friendly workplaces, and social
housing for newlyweds and families of young children, we will ensure that our
young people will no longer be forced to choose between work and family.
Families should not have to raise children all on their own. To support a
family is to safeguard Taiwan's future. As we are now a super-aged society,
we are advancing the Healthy Taiwan initiative, which ranges from cancer
screenings, smart healthcare, and in-home care to improving working
conditions for healthcare professionals and increasing the nursing workforce.
This way, our people will live not only longer, but healthier.

Our Long-term Care 3.0 plan, which launched this year, further integrates
healthcare with social welfare, the community, and technology. This allows
older adults to receive care in a familiar setting, and gives the "sandwich
generation," who must look after both older and younger family members,
greater support and less hardship.

To ease housing pressure, we will continue implementing our program to
support 1 million renter households, and will expand supply through a variety
of methods, including government construction of social housing, subleasing
and management programs, rental subsidy programs, as well as housing units
allocated to the government through urban renewal and floor area ratio
incentives.

We are also increasing the proportion of social housing for newlyweds and
families with young children, implementing our Preferential Housing Loans for
the Youth 3.0 program, and raising the maximum loan amounts for these
families. Stable homes are not only necessary for us to thrive in our
careers; they are also what young people need to take the leap in starting
families and pursuing their dreams.

To address labor and talent shortages, we have also rolled out the
Cross-border Workforce Enhancement Program. We firmly maintain that local
workers are our primary workforce, while the cross-border workforce serves in
a supplementary capacity. We will increase local employee wages in tandem
with migrant worker quotas, allow for greater retention of experienced
migrant workers seeking re-designation as skilled foreign workers, and
promote direct government-to-government recruitment.

We have also amended the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign
Professionals, expanding opportunities for international talent and foreign
students to come to and stay in Taiwan. This will address corporate staffing
shortages while enhancing employee benefits and pay, ensuring that talent is
not just willing to come, but willing to stay. Social safety is likewise part
of the unshakeable foundation of this city upon a hill.

To combat fraud, we have made the Executive Yuan's anti-fraud command center
a permanent task force. By integrating efforts from the areas of domestic
affairs, justice, digital affairs, and financial supervision, and by
connecting prosecutors, financial institutions, and digital platform
operators, we are severing the chain of crime at all segments, from
advertising and communication to accounts and cash flows. To fight drugs and
counter drug-impaired driving, the government continues to advance the New
Generation Anti-drug Strategy Guidelines and strengthen drug enforcement,
screening, rehabilitation, and education.

We are tracing drugs upstream to their sources and using rapid saliva drug
tests to step up roadside checks and stop dangerous drivers on the spot. The
government will do everything in its power to protect our people's
hard-earned property and every precious life in every family. The government
is also actively pushing for legal amendments. First-time drug-impaired
driving offenders will face fines of up to NT$150,000, and those who refuse
roadside testing will be fined NT$270,000. There will be no cap on fines for
repeat offenders; their driver's licenses will be revoked and their vehicles
forfeited. Passengers riding with drug-impaired drivers will also be liable
to fines.

The government will strictly enforce the law and show zero tolerance. In
addressing energy and climate challenges, our goals are a stable power
supply, energy security, and the transition to net zero. We are advancing
diverse green energy sources, energy storage, energy conservation, and grid
resilience. We will also pragmatically evaluate all energy options by drawing
on scientific evidence, following due process of law, and applying safety
standards. Energy policy cannot be built on slogans; it must be built on
considerations of safety, expertise, and responsibility. We will not rule out
options solely for ideological reasons, nor will we compromise the
sustainability of future generations for short-term gains.

To just what height this city upon a hill reaches, is not something that a
government itself can proclaim. It is decided by the lives of the people; it
is built up, inch by inch. We will show the world that democracy concerns not
just freedom of choice; it generates the capacity to solve problems and care
for people. My fellow citizens, this city upon a hill must be ironclad. And
our people must be united as one, to be a key force in safeguarding peace and
stability in the Indo-Pacific. Salt, as humble as it is, is able to bring out
flavors in all foods and preserve them against decay.

Like salt, Taiwan may be small, but we stand guard over freedom, democracy,
human rights, and the rule of law, preserving these cherished universal
values against authoritarian erosion. We do not seek hegemony, nor do we seek
to dominate others.

We know all too well the cost of conflict, and so we have chosen as our
mission the steadfast pursuit of peace, and to be a stabilizing force the
international community can trust. However, peace cannot rely solely on
wishes, and tolerance cannot become a pretext for aggressors to encroach ever
further. China continues to apply pressure through military and gray-zone
activities in an attempt to alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's resolve is not only a matter of our own survival in the face of such
authoritarian expansion; it is about whether the international community
still believes that force cannot override rules, and that the powerful cannot
strip a people of their right to determine their own future.

That is why we are continuing to reform our national defense, strengthen our
asymmetric capabilities, and develop our indigenous defense industries,
transforming our strengths in semiconductors, information and communications
technology, and precision manufacturing into the power to protect our nation.
Through whole-of-society defense resilience preparations, we are also pooling
the capacities of the central government, local governments, and civil
society to strengthen the continuity of our energy, communications,
transportation, finance, food, and healthcare systems. That way, in a crisis,
society can keep functioning stably and our people will know how to protect
themselves and help one another.

I would like to thank all our military officers and enlisted personnel,
reservists, police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, civil defense
forces, and every citizen who has been involved in exercises. With each
effort you take in earnest to prepare, you add a further line of defense for
Taiwan's peace. Our aim by increasing investment in national defense is not
to provoke; rather, it is to deter war. And we are strengthening our
self-defense not to abandon dialogue, but to ensure that dialogue can take
place on the basis of parity and dignity.

We welcome the United States and China managing their competition through
dialogue and reducing the risk of conflict and war. But we must also point
out that maintaining regional security, peace, and stability requires a
correct understanding of how history has unfolded. There must be no tolerance
for distorting the history of World War II. There must be respect for the
right of the people of Taiwan to exist. And above all, democracies in the
Indo-Pacific must join forces to ensure the status quo of peace and stability
in the region is not changed.

Taiwan cherishes peace, but we will not give up our freedom. We are open to
exchanges, but will not accept subordination. Taiwan is showing its
determination to prevent authoritarianism from eroding democracy and fear
from supplanting freedom. Through resolute and responsible actions, we are
safeguarding the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and
the Indo-Pacific.

My fellow citizens, the gates of this city upon a hill must be wide open to
the world, so that the world's light may shine in. The light from within this
city - innovation, equality, and compassion - will bring hope to the world.
Light not only illuminates ourselves, but helps others see the way forward.
Taiwan's light comes from the wisdom and diligence of our people; from the
innovations of our industries; from our choice to share our successes with
the world.

From traditional industries to advanced chips, Taiwan's might has proven that
an island limited in resources can become an indispensable force for global
prosperity. However, our achievements will not stop here. As we speak, the
Executive Yuan is accelerating the development of 13 core strategic
industries, which include the Five Trusted Industry Sectors of
semiconductors, AI, military, security and surveillance, and next-generation
communications; as well as the three core technological areas of our 10 new
AI infrastructure initiatives, namely silicon photonics, quantum computing,
and robotics. Last but not least are the key areas of critical minerals,
biotechnology and healthcare, building Taiwan into an Asian asset management
hub, public infrastructure and urban renewal, the cultural and creative
industries, and growing tourism into a trillion-NT-dollar industry.

This will ensure that Taiwan maintains its competitive edge through the next
generation. And through the Micro-, Small-, and Medium-sized Enterprise
Diversified Revitalization and Development Plan, with its
hundred-billion-NT-dollar scale, we will provide support for financing,
talent training, digital transformation, net-zero upgrading, and access to
international distribution channels. While the tech industry continues to
advance, it must lead traditional industries with it. And as leading
enterprises expand their global presence, they must also help supply chains
take root in Taiwan.

We cannot rely on just one guardian mountain; we must ensure that all sectors
join together to form a chain of guardian mountains. The economy must also
shine a light on people's lives. We are raising the minimum wage for 11
consecutive years, increasing the salaries of military personnel, civil
servants, and educators five times in 10 years, and have taken steps this
year to expand professional and supervisory allowances.

Through wage incentives and social support, we are translating economic
growth into better compensation and lighter burdens. On the foundation of
fiscal stability, we are planning a universal cash payment of NT$10,000 per
person, a welfare allowance for elderly farmers of NT$10,000 per person per
month, and National Pension annuities of NT$5,000 per person per month. We
are also comprehensively increasing the six major social welfare allowances
for disadvantaged families so that all citizens can share in the fruits of
our economic growth.

Taiwan's light stems not just from our tech industry, but even more from how
we treat one another. Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize
same-sex marriage. We will continue to push for greater gender equality,
ensuring that no one is marginalized based on gender, ethnicity, background,
or identity, and that everyone can live with dignity, free to pursue their
own joy. Internationally, we address the needs of our partners through
cooperation in healthcare, agriculture, energy, technology, education, and
sustainable development.

Taiwan's expertise and goodwill lead to concrete actions that improve lives.
"Taiwan Can Help" is not just a slogan. It is a commitment - our willingness
to share our capabilities and shoulder responsibility. Taiwan's light will
shine across borders, giving warmth and hope to even more of those in need.
My dear fellow citizens, before long, we will be holding the nine-in-one
local elections. Electing capable and virtuous leaders while resisting
threats and enticements is our shared responsibility. Political parties may
compete, and opinions can differ, but the Taiwan we are so firmly rooted in
should not be divided as a result.

This city upon a hill shines not because our people never disagree, but
because even when we do, we still respect one another, believe in our
democratic system, and stand ready to safeguard our nation together. A
president's power comes from the people's trust; a president's responsibility
is to unite our strengths and lead the country forward. I will govern
pragmatically to help build this city upon a hill.

With our resolute democracy and defense capabilities, we will aspire to be
the salt of the earth that preserves peace. Our innovation, equality, and
compassion will warm the world with their light. My fellow citizens, let us
unite in solidarity, and for the Taiwan of the next 30 years: Let us build an
even firmer foundation, and even stronger competitive advantages, so that the
next generation can stride steadier and journey farther.

Let's keep going, Republic of China! Let's keep going, Taiwan! Thank you.