Several lawmakers held a ceremony in the Legislative Yuan on Friday to mark the inauguration of six parliamentary friendship groups to promote closer exchanges with European countries.
The aim of setting up the groups is to help boost Taiwan’s international participation, lawmakers said.
The groups include the Taiwanese parliamentary group working on WTO diplomacy, the Taiwan-
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
Switzerland Parliamentary Friendship Association, the Taiwan-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Taiwan-Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg Parliamentary Friendship Association.
The Dutch parliament and the Belgian parliament’s Chamber of Representatives have passed resolutions in support of Taiwan in recent years, while Luxembourg has also voiced support for Taiwan participating in the WHO, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) said.
In addition, Switzerland’s lower house passed a resolution in May last year to “strengthen cooperation with the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan,” demonstrating the support of European countries for Taiwan’s international participation and cooperation, Lin said.
Taiwan not only has to seek out economic opportunities, but also strengthen democracy and human rights to boost ties with democratic countries worldwide, Lin said.
Meanwhile, DPP legislator Fan Yun (范雲), who chairs the Taiwan Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, pledged to strengthen international connections and build an alliance against China based on human rights.
She said she also established the Taiwan-Europe Social Democratic and Anti-Authoritarian Countries Parliamentary Friendship Network.
DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸), who was re-elected chairman of the Taiwan-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group, highlighted the shared values of democracy and freedom between the two countries.
German Institute Taipei Director-General Jorg Polster welcomed the establishment of parliamentary friendship associations, saying that he was looking forward to accompanying a German parliamentary delegation at this year’s presidential inauguration ceremony in Taiwan.
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
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
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS