Morris Chang (張忠謀), President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) representative to the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea, yesterday said that he was confident he had completed the task that Tsai gave him.
Chang held a news conference yesterday afternoon in Port Moresby, telling reporters that he was satisfied with his trip, although he could not disclose the specifics of the task Tsai gave him.
Japanese media reports earlier in the day said Chang met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for 20 minutes in the afternoon as the summit was drawing to a close.
Photo: AP
Chang also reportedly met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) on Saturday.
Asked to comment on the meetings, Chang said that he would not deny the meetings had taken place, but declined to offer any details.
He had “friendly and candid” interactions with a number of foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he said.
Photo: Reuters
The only meeting between Chang and a foreign leader during the summit that the government has made public was one on Saturday with US Vice President Mike Pence, when a photograph of the pair shaking hands was released.
According to Japanese media, during a “pull-aside” meeting with Chang, Abe told the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) that Taiwan is an important partner of Japan due to their shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Abe proposed enhancing ties with Taiwan in terms of tourism and other areas, the reports said.
Abe also brought up the issue of strained cross-strait relations, saying that Tokyo hopes Taipei and Beijing would engage in peaceful and direct dialogue in an attempt to break the ice.
Peaceful cross-strait relations would be beneficial to regional peace and stability, Abe said.
He also expressed gratitude to Taiwan for the assistance offered by its people and government in the wake of natural disasters in Japan, the reports said.
Chang told Abe that Taiwan and Japan will hopefully continue to enhance their trade and economic ties, the reports said.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Tsai praised Chang’s performance at the summit and voiced gratitude for his efforts in promoting Taiwan’s relations with the US and other nations.
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