"If the Taiwan Strait has a crisis, Finland cannot escape it either!" Finnish MP reveals the true importance of Taiwan

The program interviews Finnish Member of Parliament Ville Kaunisto to discuss the connections between Taiwan and Finland in terms of geopolitics, energy resilience, and technological development. The MP states that although the Taiwan Strait is far from Finland, the situation in the Taiwan Strait could affect Finland's operations. He also introduces Finland's 96% clean energy share and mentions investment areas such as space technology, quantum technology, and AI.

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I think Taiwan and Finland both, they have very good strength in that field. At the end of the day, I think it's good for the world if we find solutions that can support freedom and technologies that help humanity.

Hello everyone, welcome to

News Hard-Hitting channel

News Hard-Hitting, listening to news is the best. My name is Stan, and today I am honored to attend the EFTA conference. Beside me is Ville Kaunisto, a Member of Parliament from Finland. MP, thank you so much for agreeing to be on my show.

No problem, no problem.

How do you feel about today's event?

Very interesting. I mean, in my work, getting information is the most important thing, because that's how you can make decisions, based on information and facts. And for me, these kinds of events are always very interesting, to learn more and understand more. Finland is a small country, we have our own problems, but if we can broadly understand how the world works, I think this is a very interesting day.

Well, that's what Taiwanese people would also tell you: Taiwan is a small country. Why do you think Taiwan is important to Finnish people, and to the country of Finland?

I mean, the thing is, from the Finnish perspective, what's interesting is, of course, when we look at geopolitics now, everything revolves around Ukraine, which is the focus for everyone in Finland, and how we deal with Russia, and how that evolves, and how we achieve a lasting and just peace.

And then there is the Strait of Hormuz, which affects our daily lives, gas prices, and everything else. And that, first is the Ukraine level, which is very close, and everyone agrees. Then there is Hormuz, and in Finland, you can already feel that people can have very different views on this, because it is slightly further away.

And then when we look at Taiwan, or the Taiwan Strait, it is so far from Finland that knowledge and understanding are limited. But when you understand the importance of Taiwan, or the Taiwan Strait, and how it works, you will realize that it can basically bring Finland to a standstill.

So I see three different distances, these regions affect Finland in many ways, but the further you go, of course, the fewer people understand. This is understandable, but that is precisely why I think today's event is so important.

You have been to Taiwan before, right?

I was in Taipei less than a year ago, talking about Finland's energy system and how we built it to be resilient so that we don't have to rely on Russia. For example, Germany had a very different view on this before the war, and now they are struggling.

As for us Finns, we have renewable electricity production accounting for 96%, clean energy. So that was one thing I wanted to talk about in Taiwan, telling you how to build this kind of resilience through a patient and well-planned system.

And this visit was very interesting because it gave me an understanding of how Taiwan operates, how their energy system operates, and what kind of difficulties are there locally. Because like I said, Finland is really far away, and to understand it better, it's great to be able to see it with my own eyes, first hand.

Do you think there are any aspects, in the energy sector, technology, or daily life, where Finland can learn from Taiwan and Taiwan can learn from Finland?

I mean, personally, I think we are stepping into this new era of technological advancement, with AI and everything surrounding AI, and there are so many opportunities and positive things it can create. But then there are also risks.

And for me, it's just that everything is about finding friends you can do business with, and creating that safe environment where you can navigate these new technologies, which are definitely going to change the world.

And I think Taiwan and Finland both, they have very strong strengths in that field. And at the end of the day, I think it's good for the world if we find solutions that support freedom and technologies that help humankind.

My audience is mostly Taiwanese, so if there's an opportunity for you to recommend some investment areas in Finland, what would you recommend to Taiwanese people?

Well, Finland has great advantages in many areas. Of course, space tech is one of the large and currently growing areas, and we are talking about European sovereignty again, how do we deal with these tensions in the geopolitical landscape?

Space, quantum, AI, I mean very excellent fields. And then I mean, different types of technologies and industries, but those are the really interesting ones. Like I said, this is growth and acceleration in terms of technological development, and this is going to change the world.

So I sincerely hope that Finland can participate in this race, and we will do it together with our friends.

Thank you very much, MP. One last question, is there anything you would like to say to your friends in Taiwan?

I mean, like I said in my speech earlier, you build resilience, you build strength, you build competitiveness, and you build a better future by doing the right things every day. And I think that is an example Finland can show to the world.

Thank you!

I think Taiwan and Finland have both they have very good strength on that area. At the end of the day I think it's good for the world if we find solutions that give that support freedom and technologies that help the humankind.

My name is Stan and today I have an honor to take part in the EFTA conference and I have Ville Kaunisto MP from Finland with me. MP thank you so much for agreeing to take part in my show.

No problem no problem.

What do you think about today's event?

Very interesting. I mean, in my work, getting information is the most important thing because then you can make decisions based on information and facts. And to me, these kind of events are always very interesting to learn more and understand more. Finland is a small country. We have our own problems, but to understand broadly how the world works, I think this is a very interesting day.

Well that's what the Taiwanese people would also tell you. Taiwan is a small country. Why do you think Taiwan is important for the Finnish people and for Finland as a country?

I mean, the thing is, what is interesting from Finland's perspective is, of course, when we look at geopolitics right now, everything is surrounding around Ukraine, is on everybody's mind in Finland, and how we deal with Russia and how that evolves, and how do we get a lasting just peace.

And then you have Strait of Hormuz, which is affecting our everyday life and gas prices and everything. And that kind of, first you have that Ukraine level, which is close and everybody agrees. Then you have Hormuz, and you already get this sense in Finland that you can have very different opinions about it because it's a little bit further away.

And then when we look at Taiwan or Strait of Taiwan and it's so far from Finland that knowledge and understanding is limited. But when you understand the importance of Taiwan or Strait of Taiwan and how it works, you understand it, it can basically stop Finland.

So I see three different distances of areas that affect Finland in many ways, but the further you go, the less people understand of course. Which is understandable but that's why I think today's event is so important.

You have been to Taiwan before right?

I was in Taipei less than a year ago talking about Finnish energy system and how we build it resilient so that we were not dependent on Russia. Say Germany had a very different kind of view on it before the war and now they are struggling.

With us Finns we have renewable electricity production. It's 96% clean energy. So that was one thing that I was in Taiwan to talk about, to tell how you can create this kind of resilience with a patient and well-planned system.

And also the visit was very interesting because it gave me a perspective of how Taiwan works and how their energy system works and what are the difficulties there. Because like I said Finland is so far away and to understand it better, it was great to see it firsthand.

Do you think that there are any aspects of the energy sector or of technology or everyday life that Finland can learn from Taiwan and Taiwan can learn from Finland?

I mean, I personally think that we are stepping into this new era of technological advancement with AI and everything that is around AI. And there are so many opportunities, the positive things that it can create. But then there are the risks.

And to me it's just everything is based on finding friends to do business with and create that safe environment where you can navigate through new technologies that will change the world for sure.

And I think Taiwan and Finland has both they have very good strength on that area. And at the end of the day I think it's good for the world if we find solutions that give that support freedom and technologies that help the humankind.

Most of my viewers are Taiwanese so if you had an opportunity to recommend some investment areas in Finland what would you recommend to the Taiwanese people?

Well, we are extremely good on many areas in Finland. Of course space tech is one of the big growing ones right now. And again we come to the sovereignty in Europe. How do we manage in these tensions in the geopolitical landscape?

Space quantum AI. I mean very good ones. Then I mean a long variety of different kind of technologies and industries. But those are the interesting ones.

Like I said, it's the increase and the acceleration in the development of technologies, it's going to change the world. So I really hope that Finland is going to be in that race and we're going to be doing that with our friends.

Thank you so much MP. And final question if you have anything to say to the Taiwanese friends?

I mean, like I said in my speech earlier, you build resilience and you build strength and you build competitiveness and you build a better future by doing the right things every day. And I think that's one example that Finland can show to the world.

Kiitos!