The US and Japanese governments congratulated President William Lai (賴清德) on taking office yesterday while affirming close ties with Taiwan.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement congratulating Lai on his inauguration and “the Taiwan people for once again demonstrating the strength of their robust and resilient democratic system.”
“The partnership between the American people and the Taiwan people, rooted in democratic values, continues to broaden and deepen across trade, economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties,” Blinken said.
Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP
He also commended former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for her efforts in bolstering ties between Washington and Taipei during the eight years she was in office.
“We look forward to working with President Lai and across Taiwan’s political spectrum to advance our shared interests and values, deepen our longstanding unofficial relationship, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Blinken said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Blinken for again publicly supporting a free and democratic Taiwan, following the congratulatory message he sent after the nation’s presidential election in January.
The statement demonstrated the “rock-solid” relations between Taiwan and the US, and a partnership based on shared values, the ministry said.
The new government would build on the existing solid foundation and continue to work with the US to bolster cooperation in several fields, and safeguard peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, it added.
Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi congratulated Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on their inauguration at a regular news briefing yesterday.
“Taiwan is an extremely important partner and dear friend of our country, with whom we share fundamental values and have close economic ties and people-to-people exchanges,” Hayashi said.
The Japanese government would continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with Taiwan based on a “non-governmental practical relationship,” he said.
The two sides have supported each other through difficult situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the major earthquakes that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula and Hualien earlier this year, Hayashi said.
Tokyo is looking forward to deepening the friendship with Taipei under Lai’s leadership, he added.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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