The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations.
The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy.
Photo: Bloomberg
The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Science and Technology Council.
A source, who asked to remain anonymous, yesterday cited Cho as saying at the meeting that the economics ministry should give the foreign ministry data and documents about Taiwan-Japan collaborations on semiconductors, which would be managed as projects to deepen bilateral political and economic ties.
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) last week at a news conference said that Taiwan is cooperating with Japan’s semiconductor supply chain.
In the first or second quarter this year, state-supported service companies would be set up in Fukuoka Prefecture, while agreements would be signed to protect Taiwanese firms building plants in an industrial park in Kumamoto Prefecture, he said.
The source also cited Cho as saying that the task force would take over the Central and Eastern Europe Resilience Program 2.0, with the foreign ministry assisting the economic ministry to propose projects.
In Germany, the semiconductor sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic to form a triangular industrial cluster, they said.
In the Philippines, the government is planning to aid the local semiconductor sector by investing in infrastructure and power grid construction in Luzon as the developable land area is large, the source said.
Taiwan and Thailand’s collaboration on a Smart City Program was also mentioned in the meeting, they said.
Taiwan has made significant breakthroughs in its relationship with Thailand, such as a new agreement on investment promotion and protection signed in June last year, and Thailand’s approval of indefinite visa-free entry for Taiwanese travelers, the source said.
The task force plans to combine Taiwan’s economic and industrial competitive edges to deepen the nation’s ties with like-minded nations and those that share the same strategic benefits, with the goal of enhancing Taiwan’s participation in the Indo-Pacific region and international community, and achieving President William Lai’s (賴清德) policy of value diplomacy and his vision of Taiwan being one of the world’s economic strongholds, they said.
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
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat