US Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra on Monday shared photographs of his meeting with his Taiwanese counterpart, Chen Hsing-hsing (陳欣新), at the US embassy in The Hague, after Washington lifted restrictions on official contacts with Taipei.
Two days earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he was lifting the “self-imposed restrictions” on US-Taiwan relations.
“Made some history today: Welcomed Taiwan Representative Chen to our Embassy,” Hoekstra wrote on Twitter on Monday. “Glad that our @StateDept colleagues around the world will now be able to host our friends from this vibrant democracy on our Embassy grounds.”
Photo: Screen grab from the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands’ Facebook page
Chen replied on Twitter that she was pleased and honored to visit the US embassy in The Hague for “the very first time in my diplomatic career.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Hoekstra’s improved relations with Chen, but cannot reveal the details of meetings with other governments, Department of European Affairs Deputy Director-General Kendra Chen (陳詠韶) told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
The US Department of State on Monday also announced that a closed-door meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Clarke Cooper and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) had been held that day at 11:30am.
Hsiao should resume the daily flag-raising at the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington, which ended in 1979, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) said yesterday.
Then-US president Barack Obama’s administration expressed its dissatisfaction after then-representative to the US Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) held a flag-raising ceremony at the estate on Jan. 1, 2015.
Hsiao should also move the Republic of China flag hanging inside the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York City outside to mark the breakthrough in ties, especially as the office and the UN headquarters are both on 42nd Street, Chen said.
The government has been taking steady and practical steps to deepen bilateral partnerships in different areas, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
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