Members of the US Republican Study Committee arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit, during which they are to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other top officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Committee chairman US Representative Kevin Hern is leading the delegation composed of fellow US representatives Burgess Owens, Mike Flood, Mike Collins, Russell Fry and Keith Self, the ministry said in a news release.
Before departing on Friday, they are to meet with Tsai and Vice President William Lai (賴清德), as well as attend a banquet hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
They are also to hold discussions with senior government officials and think tank experts to exchange views on topics of importance to Taiwan-US relations, the ministry added, offering its “sincere welcome” to the group.
The visiting lawmakers are all long-term supporters of Taiwan and have acted on that friendship, standing behind any number of US congressional initiatives in support of security, economic and cooperative engagement with Taiwan, it said.
As China continues to unilaterally raise regional tensions, visits by US lawmakers demonstrate their unwavering support for Taiwan, the ministry added.
The Republican Study Committee was founded in 1973 as a study group for conservatives in the US House of Representatives. It is now the largest ideological caucus in Congress with 175 members.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the