Vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) visited the European Parliament at the invitation of lawmakers, a gesture that shows Taiwan and the EU are partners with shared values, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
On behalf of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, European Parliament First Vice President Othmar Karas welcomed Hsiao to the legislative body, making her the first vice president-elect of Taiwan to visit the European Parliament before being sworn in, the ministry said.
The visit would help Europe better understand Taiwan’s determination to safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, as well as deepen and expand cooperation between Taiwan and the EU, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hsiao also met with Reinhard Butikofer — a German member of the European Parliament and chairman of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China — and European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group chairman Michael Gahler.
Hsiao also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest with members of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, the ministry said.
At a welcoming reception held by the friendship group, Hsiao thanked its members for their longstanding, firm support of Taiwan, adding that she hoped the EU would continue to back the democratic nation through concrete actions.
Taiwan and European countries have been engaging in ever-closer exchanges in the past few years, the ministry said, citing the European Council’s voicing of its opposition to “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” for the first time in its meeting conclusions in June last year.
The EU is Taiwan’s fifth-largest trading partner and the largest source of foreign direct investment, with its member states investing a cumulative US$71.8 billion in the nation, it said.
Last year, Taiwan signed 29 cooperation agreements with European countries in fields such as agriculture, medicine, healthcare, education, culture, science and technology, it said.
That same year several Taiwanese ministers also visited EU countries, while 74 delegations of European parliamentarians and administrative officials were invited to visit Taiwan, it added.
As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan would continue to deepen cooperation with like-minded partners such as the EU and the European Parliament to safeguard global and regional security and prosperity, it said.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS