The Czech Republic’s commitment to democracy and defense of Ukraine are deserving of admiration, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said yesterday while receiving a delegation led by Czech Senator Jiri Drahos in Taipei.
Drahos, who chairs the Czech Senate’s Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions, and 12 other representatives arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a six-day visit.
Addressing a reception for the delegation at the Grand Hotel yesterday afternoon, You opened by thanking the Czech s for welcoming him and other Taiwanese lawmakers when they visited the European nation in July.
Photo courtesy of the Legislative Yuan
He also praised the Czech Republic as a democratic leader in the region, whose peaceful 1989 Velvet Revolution instigated a wave of democratization across central and eastern Europe.
The late Czech president Vaclav Havel — the first to be elected democratically after the fall of communism in the nation — had the foresight to recognize that the totalitarian nature of communism is unsustainable, You said.
Yet over the past few years, democracy has been losing ground, he said, pointing to Chinese and Russian expansionism, and military rule in Afghanistan and Myanmar.
Photo courtesy of the Legislative Yuan
The Czech Republic ranks 10th in the world in terms of monetary aid to Ukraine — seventh as a percentage of GDP — and sixth in terms of military aid, You said, citing data from Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The nation’s defense of Ukraine in keeping with Havel’s spirit is worthy of admiration, he added.
In his address, Drahos said that although he only arrived the day before, it already feels like home.
The Czech Republic will continue to push for Taiwan’s involvement in international organizations such as the WHO and International Civil Aviation Organization, he said.
Drahos also expressed the hope of establishing direct flights between the two nations to make travel more convenient.
The delegation also includes Czech Academy of Sciences president Eva Zazimalova; Michal Lukes, general director of the National Museum in Prague; Roman Hvezda, director of the ELI Beamlines facility, an international laser research center; and officials from the fields of education, science and technology, as well as experts in epidemic prevention and information security.
Drahos had originally planned to visit Taiwan in October 2020, but postponed the trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional reporting by CNA
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
RSS