President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday arrived in Paraguay, where she and Paraguayan president-elect Mario Abdo Benitez agreed to further expand cooperation.
Tsai and Abdo Benitez agreed to focus on investment, infrastructure and trade as the focus of future relations, Hugo Saguier, a foreign affairs advisor to Abdo Benitez, said following the one-hour meeting.
Saguier, who attended the meeting, said that details of ventures between the two nations would be made public when Abdo Benitez visits Taiwan in October.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
“After the meeting, we reconfirmed relations between the two nations,” Saguier said. “We will continue to maintain relations with Taiwan as the two nations share the same diplomatic values, which is irreplaceable to Paraguay.”
Under the framework, Taiwanese firms would be encouraged to invest in education, medical care and technology infrastructure projects in Paraguay to boost economic development and residents’ livelihoods, Ambassador to Paraguay Diego Chou (周麟) said.
Three government-funded investment firms would be started by Taiwan to offer Paraguay assistance on agriculture, technology and development projects through the provision of low-interest loans, said National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥), who also attended the meeting.
Abdo Benitez promised to advance ties between the two nations in the hope that Paraguay might serve as a hub for Taiwanese manufacturers considering moving into the South American market, Tsai Ming-yen said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tsai Ing-wen met Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and gave a keynote speech at the opening of a course for students likely to study at a technology university jointly founded by the two nations, which has yet to officially open.
Tsai encouraged the students to apply to vocational training scholarship programs in Taiwan.
“Taiwan is Paraguay’s best friend,” she said. “We are glad to share our experience with you and contribute to a better future for Paraguay.”
Taiwan and Paraguay in December last year agreed to found the university to train engineers. Paraguay funded the construction, while Taiwan has provided teachers, curriculum plans and lab equipment.
Tsai Ing-wen invited Abdo Benitez to visit Taiwan in October and attend the Double Ten National Day celebrations, Tsai Ming-yen said, adding that the two sides would further discuss cooperative ventures in Taipei.
Later on Tuesday, Tsai Ing-wen attended a banquet with Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, where they exchanged views on possible cooperative projects between the two nations.
Yesterday, she was to attend the inauguration of Abdo Benitez before heading to Belize for a three-day visit, during which she is to be decorated by Governor-General Colville Young and meet with Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow.
Asked about Tsai Ing-wen’s public address during her Monday stopover in Los Angeles, US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Tuesday said: “Our policy on Taiwan has not changed. The United States remains committed to our US ‘one China’ policy based on the Three Joint Communiques under the Taiwan Relations Act.”
“The United States, in regard to this trip, facilitates from time to time representatives of the Taiwan authorities to transit the United States. Those are largely undertaken out of consideration for the safety and comfort of those travelers and that is in keeping with our ‘one China’ policy,” she said
Nauert declined to say whether the US government would be happy for Tsai Ing-wen to speak in Washington during a stopover.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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