British trade envoy to Taiwan Richard Faulkner is to visit the nation for a week to strengthen UK-Taiwan trade and investment relations, the British Office in Taipei said in a statement on Thursday.
Faulkner, who arrived on Thursday evening and is scheduled to depart on Thursday, is to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday next week to discuss economic and trade collaboration with Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花), the office said.
Faulkner would also be celebraing the 40th anniversary of Chevening scholarships with Taiwanese partners and Chevening alumni, and is expected to give a keynote speech at the Better Business Awards ceremony hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, the office said.
Photo: screen grab from the Web site of the British House of Lords
He is to discuss the UK’s renewable energy experience in Penghu County and also attend the UK-Taiwan Net Zero Academic Research Forum on Tuesday, to enhance research collaboration on transitioning to net zero emissions in a just and sustainable way, it added.
The office said that Faulkner was looking forward to visiting Taiwan again and contributing to the partnership between the two sides, adding that “bilateral links have grown stronger and deeper since my last visit in 2018.”
The office said the UK and Taiwan started official talks in July as part of the new UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership that covered topics including energy and net zero emissions, digital trade and two-way investment.
The office added that both sides share the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and have been collaborating on renewable energy development and climate transition plans for almost 20 years.
Faulkner yesterday led 10 British renewable-energy businesses participating in the 18th UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Conference, and shared the UK’s best practices on offshore wind development and emerging technologies such as low carbon hydrogen and smart grid, the office said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
RSS