The Legislative Yuan’s Friendship Association With the Baltic States yesterday urged the government to adopt policies to deepen relations with central and eastern Europe.
Association members Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉), Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to step up collaboration with the legislature to bolster Taiwan’s diplomatic outreach efforts to central and eastern European countries.
By establishing connections with small, democratic countries in the EU that share similar views and values with Taiwan, it would be possible to find a way out of the nation’s diplomatic quandary, the association said at a news conference.
Photo: Lu Yi-hui, Taipei Times
Chiu suggested the establishment of a “travel bubble” program with countries in central and eastern Europe, similar to the one with Palau, adding that travel bubbles, which allow people to move freely without undergoing quarantine, would facilitate bilateral relations.
The association has plans to invite Lithuanian Parliamentary Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to Taiwan, he said.
The ministry should consider including eastern European languages in its exams, as fluency in Baltic languages would increase the efficiency of promoting bilateral relations, he added.
Chiu called for the ministry to adjust its funding for the region and to expand the list of countries eligible to apply for the Taiwan-Europe Connectivity Scholarship program.
The ministry should consider emulating Japan and issuing an annual diplomatic blue book to inform the public on its diplomatic strategies and its take on international affairs, which would allow the public to act in a way that would improve Taiwan’s reputation, he said.
The government should negotiate starting direct flight services with the Czech Republic, especially Prague, Hsu said, adding that other direct-flight destinations in eastern and central Europe should also be considered to tighten economic and tourism ties with the region.
The ministry should also initiate a review on how to best utilize its offices in the Visegrad Group to interact with more European countries, he said.
Chang Liao suggested stepping up interaction between the legislatures of Taiwan and the Baltic states.
The countries in central and eastern Europe have experienced similar oppression that Taiwan has undergone, and they also strive to achieve democracy and liberty, he said.
They have spoken highly of Taiwan’s information and electronics industries, and are interested in attracting Taiwanese businesses to invest in the region, which would improve Taiwanese-European interaction in technology, education and industry development, he added.
Thanking the Czech, Lithuanian and Slovakian governments for their donations of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General of European Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國), who represented the ministry at the news conference, said he would relay the association’s suggestions to the ministry and would discuss them in-depth.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hui
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS