The Legislative Yuan yesterday launched parliamentary friendship associations for countries in Africa, Central and South Americas and the Caribbean, which were initiated by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉).
Taiwan should foster more connections with African countries and many of them have great potential in trade and investment, Chiu said at the inaugural ceremony of the Taiwan-African Countries Parliamentary Friendship Association.
Accompanying President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her visit to Eswatini in September last year, Chiu said he witnessed the fruitful outcome of cooperation between Taiwan and its African ally.
Photo courtesy of Chiu Chih-wei’s office
There is a lot of room for bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and African countries in the fields of trade, investment, culture, education and science and technology, he said.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to draw up an updated and more comprehensive version of the Africa Project, which Tsai initiated in 2018.
The Taiwan-African Countries group is to promote parliamentary and people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and African countries, helping the nation work toward the goal of setting up 10 representative offices in Africa in the next four years, especially in central and north Africa, he said.
Taiwan has six representative offices in five African countries: Eswatini, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Somaliland and South Africa, he said, adding that the group aims to set up more offices in African countries to bolster bilateral exchanges and provide Taiwanese businesspeople there with more resources.
He urged the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the International Cooperation and Development Fund to draw up a cooperation plan with African states to boost Taiwan’s visibility.
At the inaugural ceremony of the Taiwan-Central and South American and Caribbean Countries Parliamentary Friendship Association, Chiu thanked Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the regions for speaking up for Taiwan at international events and supporting its international participation.
The group is to promote and expand cooperation with countries in the regions in fields such as science and technology, trade, economy and education, he said.
During the Legislative Yuan recess, he plans to lead delegations to diplomatic countries to conduct parliamentary diplomacy.
The group is also to meet with foreign ambassadors and representatives in Taiwan regularly to exchange views on various topics to advance a substantive relationship between the legislative and executive branches, he said.
‘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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS