Taiwan is a friend of the world recognized by international partners, Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio said during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.
Taiwan and Italy are friendly nations that respect each other and have very important cooperative relationships in economy, culture and politics, Centinaio said.
The Taiwanese government’s efforts both domestically and internationally are well recognized, which is exemplified by continuous visits of international delegations to Taiwan, he said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan is a friend of the whole world and a friend of Italy, which considers Taiwan a democracy with which Italy can engage on an equal footing, he added.
Echoing a G7 statement that underlined the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Centinaio said he hoped that the democratic camp can grow stronger around the world.
Tsai welcomed the delegation led by Centinaio, the first Italian parliamentary delegation to Taiwan since a new administration took office in Rome in October last year, and thanked the visitors for showing their support for Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
The Italian parliament passed three pro-Taiwan resolutions last year to underline the importance of cross-strait peace and stability, and support Taiwan’s international participation, she said.
Italy dispatched warships to help safeguard the Indo-Pacific region, while Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani repeatedly voiced support for the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, she added.
Tsai expressed the hope of deepening cooperation with Italy to jointly build a resilient democratic supply chain, as the two sides have different strengths in the semiconductor and high-tech industries.
She also invited Italians to visit Taiwan after flights between Milan and Taipei were launched last year.
Separately, Polish Foreign Affairs Committee Vice Chairwoman Barbara Bartus called for direct flights and cooperation in hydrogen power between Taiwan and Poland during a meeting with Tsai yesterday.
Direct flights would be beneficial to bilateral relations between Taiwan and Poland, a nation with great development potential, Bartus said.
The two sides could cooperate on the hydrogen industry as it is a field Taiwan hopes to develop, while Poland is the third-largest hydrogen energy producer in Europe, she said.
Poland hopes to attract investors from Taiwan and seek cooperation opportunities in research and development, technology transfers and talent cultivation, she added.
Many Taiwanese students are studying in Poland, especially in medicine, Bartus said.
However, these medical students are required to have their academic certificate approved by the Ministry of Education before they can participate in the examination to practice in Taiwan, she said, adding that she hopes the issue can be resolved.
Tsai thanked Poland for donating 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan and actively supporting Taiwan’s international participation.
For example, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki openly supported cross-strait peace and stability during a trip to the US in April, she said.
In the same month, 93 lawmakers in the Polish-Taiwanese Parliamentary Group issued a joint statement supporting Taiwan’s international participation, she added.
Taiwan would continue to cooperate with Poland and its neighboring nations to assist Ukraine in its recovery and reconstruction, Tsai said.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’