Wyoming Governor Matt Mead yesterday oversaw the opening of a Wyoming trade office in Taipei designed to facilitate bilateral exchanges in technology, tourism and education, marking the launch of the first foreign mission office in Taiwan since 2008.
Mead, who is visiting Taiwan for the third time, told a news conference at the Sherwood Taipei (台北西華飯店) that the idea to set up the US state’s first overseas trade office in 30 years in Taiwan started to take shape after his first visit five years ago.
Mead said he chose Taiwan because of its democratic achievements, as well as the warmth and hospitality of its people.
Photo: Lu I-hsuan, Taipei Times
“But we also see the marvel that is Taiwan. The technology development this country has had has been nothing short of amazing. When we think about technology that we use, for example, in the US, we know so many of the components and inventions come from Taiwan and Taiwan people,” Mead said.
By establishing the State of Wyoming-Asia Pacific Trade Office, Mead said he hopes to expand his state’s technologies, such as “blockchain to livestock” and “clean coal,” and to promote tourism and educational exchanges between Taiwan and the “cowboy state.”
As Wyoming is leading research in transforming carbon dioxide into viable products, Mead said he would also like to see more cooperation with Taiwan in this area.
Asked if he has received any pressure from China, Mead said that Beijing contacted him during his trip to Taiwan last year, but not this time.
“We are an independent state and we believe Taiwan has been a good friend for the US and for Wyoming,” he said. “China will have a few points I am sure, but I am the governor of the state of Wyoming and my responsibility is to do the best for the citizens of Wyoming.”
Mead said he believes that establishing the office in Taiwan is in the best interest of Wyoming citizens and hopes it would also benefit Taiwanese.
Office Director Chester Chu (朱裕誠), who had worked in the private sector to promote Taiwan’s healthcare industry in the US, said the office is the first foreign mission to be established in Taiwan since 2008, calling it a “diplomatic breakthrough.”
Wyoming is the seventh US state to establish an office in Taiwan, Chu said.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify