Polish-Taiwanese Parliamentary Group chairman Waldemar Andzel yesterday told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in a meeting in Taipei that Poland welcomes Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturers to establish factories there, adding that a direct flight service could be established between Warsaw and Taipei.
Andzel and his delegation arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit as part of the 30th anniversary of friendship between the two nations.
The visit also occurs as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) is looking for sites to build new fabs in Europe.
Photo: CNA
Poland has been supporting Taiwan as the two nations share similar histories, and both face threats from a hostile neighbor, Andzel said.
“We thank Taiwan for your donation of masks and other medical supplies when the world was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In return, we also tried to help Taiwan by donating 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Taiwanese have donated more than US$11 million to Ukraine, he said.
Taiwan and Poland also signed an agreement in 2016 to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion, removing trade barriers between the nations, he added.
“We hope that both countries can forge a closer economic partnership. We welcome Taiwanese companies to build new plants in Poland, such as semiconductor manufacturing firms,” Andzel said.
Noting that this was his third visit to Taiwan, Andzel said that he hoped there would be a direct flight service between Warsaw and Taipei to facilitate growing cultural exchanges between the two nations.
Tsai thanked the members of the Polish Senate Foreign and European Affairs Committee and the Health Committee for unanimously supporting Taiwan’s participation in activities organized by the WHO in July.
“I also admire you for sheltering more than 3 million Ukrainian refugees. This has demonstrated a humanitarian spirit and solidarity among the democratic countries,” Tsai said.
Poland holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe this year and is leading nations implementing sanctions against Russia and providing humanitarian aid to Ukrainians, she said.
“Taiwan, Poland and Ukraine are at the front lines against the aggression from authoritarian regimes. All Taiwanese feel for the Ukrainians for defending their democracy and freedom. We hope to join other like-minded countries in helping Ukrainians rebuild their homeland when the war is over,” Tsai said.
The Polish delegation also met with Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun (游錫?) when they visited the legislature in Taipei.
“We are far apart geographically, but democracy and freedom are our common languages. Although we are in different continents and each facing unprecedented challenges, we need to cooperate more closely to jointly defend universal values of liberty, democracy and human rights, and ensure peaceful and stable development around the globe,” You said.
A series of protests against COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities in China, also known as the “Blank Paper Revolution,” showed the Chinese people’s desire for freedom under Beijing’s draconian “zero COVID-19” policy, he said.
“It is outrageous that China still controls what people think about the policy by trying to cover up the protests on the Internet,” You said.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS