The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed delegations and foreign dignitaries set to attend Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei this week, adding that the visits highlighted their support for Taiwan and cross-strait peace and stability.
The guests include a delegation of three US lawmakers, and top officials from allies in Latin America and the Caribbean, the ministry said in a news release.
The US delegation, which arrived yesterday, is led by US Representative Debbie Lesko, who is accompanied by US representatives Andy Biggs and Carol Miller. They are to stay until Friday.
Photo: CNA
“The delegation visiting Taiwan during National Day has significant meaning,” MOFA said. “Their visit demonstrates the US Congress’ firm support for Taiwan and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Lesko visited Taiwan in 2016, while the other two members are visiting for the first time, it said.
All three of them have been friendly to Taiwan, signing bills and petitions to support Taiwanese and the nation’s democracy, it said.
The delegation has taken concrete action to support Taiwan, which faces an aggressive China that uses “gray zone” tactics to provoke and harass its neighbors, threatens the “status quo” in the Strait, and frequently limits Taiwan’s international participation, it said.
“Taiwan will continue to work hand in hand with US friends across all sectors to further deepen the values-based Taiwan-US partnership, and promote regional peace, stability and prosperity,” it said.
Belizean Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel, Saint Lucian Senate President Alvina Reynolds, Saint Lucian House of Assembly Speaker Claudius Francis and Guatemalan first lady Lucrecia Peinado are to arrive between today and Wednesday.
The ministry said it has arranged for the dignitaries to visit ministries to exchange opinions on semiconductor development, public health and medicine, social welfare, and cultural and creative industries, and for Taiwan to share its experiences and achievements in the fields.
Taiwan would build on the solid foundation of its relationship with diplomatic allies to deepen ties and improve the well-being of each other’s people, it said.
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
RSS