International society values Taiwan highly, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after returning from a trip to Paraguay for the inauguration of President Santiago Pena, adding that the trip helped bolster ties with the South American nation and bilateral cooperation.
Appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as a special envoy to deliver Taiwan’s congratulations to Pena, Lai departed on Saturday last week for a seven-day trip, including stopovers in New York and San Francisco.
Thanks to the efforts of Taiwanese, Taiwan is perceived as a force for good internationally and can “enter the international community with confidence and dignity,” Lai said.
Photo: CNA
He thanked the Paraguayan government for its hospitality, adding: “I firmly believe that this trip would be of great help to the stability of the friendship between the two countries and the strengthening of future cooperation.”
Pena “frankly and firmly” stood for the belief that the friendship between Taiwan and Paraguay is based on the common values of democracy, freedom and human rights, Lai said.
The Paraguayan president promised to fully support his country’s ties with Taiwan and expressed a sincere hope that the two sides would continue to strengthen cooperation between the government and the people in future, he said.
Pena’s goal is to fight poverty in Paraguay through education, health, medical care and employment — fields in which the South American country can further deepen its existing cooperation with Taiwan, Lai said.
The delegation also visited former Paraguayan president Mario Abdo Benitez to thank him for nurturing ties with Taiwan during the past five years, he said.
Abdo will continue to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation as a senator, Lai said, adding that former Paraguayan presidents automatically become senators for life, he said.
Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧), Lai’s presidential campaign office spokesperson, called the trip “a successful diplomatic visit that proves Lai is a leader who is capable of leading Taiwan to the world.”
Lai is the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate in January’s election.
Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun reported on Pena mentioning Taiwan in his inauguration speech while Kyodo News and Jiji news agency stated that US Secretary of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland talked to Lai at the ceremony, Kuo said.
The New York Times quoted Taiwan New Constitution Foundation deputy director Song Cheng-en’s (宋承恩) comment that Lai is sending a message through this trip that he is ready to become the president.
Italian news site Le Formiche said that Lai’s trip “underscores Taiwan’s proactive approach.”
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS