Israel is an important global start-up hub, and hopefully, based on shared values of democracy and freedom, Taiwan and Israel can continue to deepen their partnership and leverage their respective strengths to build more resilient global supply chains together, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The cross-party delegation was led by Taiwan-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group chair Boaz Toporovsky.
Photo: Screenshot from the Presidential Office’s Web site
It has been more than 30 years since Israel and Taiwan mutually established representative offices, and both countries have worked closely and held regular dialogues in the fields of energy, environment and economics, Tsai said.
Over the past three decades, Taiwan and Israel have also signed 33 agreements and enhanced exchanges in the fields of education and public health, she said, adding that a joint declaration of tourism collaboration was signed last month.
Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency and other companies hope to have more cooperation opportunities with Israel, Tsai said.
In reference to Iran launching an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday evening, Tsai also expressed her sincere concern and condolences, and condemned the use of violence to destroy world peace.
Taiwan is a beacon of freedom and democracy, and Tsai is a role model of democracy and freedom leadership, Toporovsky said.
He expressed his condolences to the victims of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien, and added that the quake has once again shown Taiwan’s strength and resilience to the world.
Taiwan and Israel are good friends, and although people in both countries face difficult situations, both are small and strong democratic countries, and that friendship would become more stable, while cooperation would continue to expand, he said.
Later yesterday at a press conference, Toporovsky said the delegation appreciated the collaboration between Taiwan and Israel and the support shown by Tsai and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in the wake of the Iranian attacks.
Regarding what Israel needs at the moment, Boaz Bismuth, one of the four delegation members, said that with 120,000 people forced to evacuate from their homes, Israel needs humanitarian aid, and he said the international community should care about the situation there.
"I think Taiwan felt exactly the grief in which we were the first day [after the attack], and solidarity is the word," he said.
Separately, all Taiwanese nationals in Iran and Israel have been reported safe, Wu said yesterday.
Currently, there are a little more than 20 Taiwanese expatriates who are now naturalized Iranians living in the West Asian country, Wu said.
More than 200 Taiwanese nationals and their spouses and children are in Israel, data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed.
The ministry also called on people to refrain from traveling to both countries due to heightened tensions in the Middle East.
It has also issued the second highest-level orange alert for both Israel and Iran.
The ministry uses a four-tiered travel advisory regarding safety and security risks. The lowest level, grey, signifies caution should be exercised; yellow suggests travel should be reconsidered; orange indicates unnecessary travel should be avoided; and red asks nationals not to travel to a destination.
People can call Taiwan’s representative offices in Israel at +972-544-275-204 and in Dubai at +971-50-6453018, as well as the Taiwan Trade Center in Tehran at +98-21-8879-4243.
Additional reporting by CNA
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