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.
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