US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce yesterday arrived in Taiwan for a four-day visit that includes tomorrow’s dedication ceremony for the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) new complex in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
It is Royce’s first visit to Taiwan since she took up her post in March, although she has accompanied her husband, US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, on several trips, the ministry said.
She is quite familiar with Taiwan and she and her husband have been long-standing, important friends of Taiwan, the ministry added.
Photo: Bloomberg
Marie Royce is to visit government agencies during her visit to share views on issues including Taiwan-US relations, educational and cultural exchanges and building a good environment for start-ups, it said.
She is also scheduled to meet with alumni of US exchange programs, and engage with the local and foreign businesses community on entrepreneurship and the business climate, the AIT said in a statement yesterday.
In her job, she oversees a wide range of programs that advance US foreign policy objectives through educational, professional, cultural and sports exchanges, and that create networks and partnerships to advance US foreign policy goals and address global challenges and opportunities, the statement said.
Marie Royce has more than 30 years of experience in the private sector, it said.
She served as a vice president of Alcatel-Lucent; held management positions with Marriott International, Avendra, Choice Hotels International and Procter & Gamble Co; and taught at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
US Representative Gregg Harper, a co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, also arrived yesterday to attend tomorrow’s dedication ceremony, at the head of a three-person delegation, the ministry said.
This is Harper’s first visit to Taipei since he took over the co-chairmanship in 2015, it said.
He is also scheduled to meet with high-ranking economic and political officials and attend a banquet hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), the ministry said.
Describing Harper as an important friend of Taiwan in the US Congress, the ministry said he has helped push pro-Taiwan proposals through the US Congress, including signing a petition to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to ask that Taiwan be allowed to participate as an observer in this year’s World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
He voted for the US’ Taiwan Travel Act, which encourages visits between government officials of the US and Taiwan, and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) when she transited through Miami en route to Panama on her first overseas trip as president in June 2016.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
RSS