Interchange Association, Japan Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi was among the first foreign representatives to visit Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday to congratulate her on her election as president.
Having promised her supporters on Saturday night that the celebrations of the party’s election win would only last one night and she would start work for her new office when the sun rose yesterday, Tsai had a busy day planned.
She met Ohashi behind closed doors and the DPP later issued a statement quoting Tsai as saying that “she was joyful that friends from Japan maintained good ties with the DPP even during the party’s most difficult times in the past eight years.”
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
Tsai also said that further cooperation in economy and trade would be the key in future Taiwan-Japan relations, including resuming talks on a free-trade agreement, the statement said.
Tsai attended a luncheon for nearly 100 people, mostly members of her family, friends and overseas supporters at the Taipei Ambassador Hotel.
Former US senator and Alaska governor Frank Murkowski, who sat next to Tsai during the luncheon, said it was a relaxed occasion, and he had a pleasant conversation with her, but they did not touch on serious issues.
Murkowski said the future of the Taiwan-US relationship would be very solid, and the statement from the US Department of State following Tsai’s victory was very positive.
As for the cross-strait relationship, Murkowski said it would be Beijing’s call.
“The people in Taiwan have spoken, they have spoken in favor of democracy overwhelmingly,” he told reporters outside the hotel.
If Beijing is smart enough, it should recognize that “the train is moving” and decide whether to get on, he said.
Throughout the day yesterday, hundreds of supporters poured into Tsai’s campaign headquarters, waiting in long lines for a last chance to purchase campaign souvenirs.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS