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 Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
RSS