The Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union (APPU) General Assembly yesterday passed a resolution supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and announced that Taiwan is to host the event next year.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) is leading a 14-member cross-party delegation to the general assembly in Tokyo.
The resolution was proposed by the Taiwanese delegation yesterday morning, followed by discussions and voting, the Legislative Yuan said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of the Legislative Yuan via CNA
Climate change should not be a political issue as it impacts beyond national borders, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said, calling on the international community to include Taiwan in the framework.
Taiwan has assisted many Pacific nations in adjusting to climate change with advanced monitoring technology with great results, DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said.
Nations should work together to overcome the impacts of climate change, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said, adding that Taiwan is willing and able to contribute.
The resolution was passed without objection.
On Monday, the delegation met with Yuichiro Tamaki, head of Japan’s Democratic Party for the People, and former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, who is now vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, it said.
Tamaki expressed sincere gratitude to Taiwanese for the generous donations they made in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as the earthquake that struck the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture in January.
The Democratic Party for the People has always valued its relations with Taiwan as it continues to pursue foreign and economic policies that are pragmatic and help enhance security, he said.
People-to-people ties are the bedrock for diplomatic engagements between Japan and Taiwan, he said, adding that he hopes to see relations further improved through interaction with the delegation.
Aso said that heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait have become a matter of great concern to the US and other nations in the region, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and India.
China would need to rely on its navy if it were to invade Taiwan, but it has little experience in naval warfare in modern history, while Japan’s navy is its main combat force, he said.
Multiple aircraft carriers have been deployed in the Asia-Pacific region as part of the US-Japan alliance to maintain peace in the region, he added.
He urged Japan to work closely with the US, Philippines, South Korea and Australia to enhance deterrence, while encouraging Japan’s young lawmakers to foster closer ties and communication channels with Taiwan’s political parties, which would facilitate cooperation in a possible Taiwan contingency.
Following the meeting, the delegation attended a trilateral dialogue with lawmakers from Japan and Palau to discuss cooperation on economic, tourism and climate issues, as well as exchange views on energy security and food shortages.
Japanese Representative Keiji Furuya, who is also chairman of the Japan-Republic of China Diet Members’ Consultative Council, and other council members are also to meet with the delegation, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on Monday.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary