Taiwan is to set up an economic and cultural office in Montreal, Canada, in view of growing bilateral exchanges between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced yesterday.
“Taiwan and Canada enjoy increasingly close exchanges across a wide range of domains, including economics and trade, science and technology, supply chains, culture and education, and indigenous affairs. After extensive research, the government of Taiwan has decided to establish the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec. Preparations are currently under way,” ministry spokeswoman Joanna Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei.
Nearly one-quarter of the Canadian population lives in Quebec, which is also home to a majority of the French-speaking population in the North American country, Ou said.
Photo: Reuters
“As the largest city in Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and a key Francophone city in North America, Montreal is widely known as a Canadian hub for technology industry clusters, which points to significant room for cooperation in areas such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence,” Ou said.
Montreal also hosts missions from the US, Japan, the UK, France and other countries as the International Civil Aviation Organization’s headquarters is in the city, she added.
Canada recently announced a comprehensive strategic report resolving to deepen diversified relationships with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, in which it particularly aims to enhance economic and people-to-people ties with Taiwan, and further develop bilateral partnerships in science, technology and innovation, Ou said.
“Taiwan’s establishment of a new office in Montreal will lend impetus to further cooperation and exchanges between the two countries,” she said.
The Montreal office is to be the nation’s fourth in Canada, joining those in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
In other news, Ou said that the government is conducting a “comprehensive assessment” on the Guatemalan government’s invitation to have President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei jointly host a summit of Taiwan’s allies in March.
“We will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the invitation and keep in close contact with the Guatemalan government on this matter. Further details on this arrangement will be disclosed to the public at a proper time,” Ou said.
New Guatemalan Ambassador to Taiwan Oscar Adolfo Padilla Lam conveyed the message in a meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday, when he presented his letter of credence to Tsai.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS