President Chen Shui-bian (
"We are not here to write checks and engage in a check-writing contest," he said. "I did not bring any checkbook here nor have I ever used one before. We are here to establish a long-term, feasible cooperative mechanism and further partnership. That is the essence of the summit."
Chen made the remarks while addressing the first annual Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit in Palau yesterday morning. Leaders of the nation's six diplomatic allies in the region all attended the one-day event.
Chen's comment came in response to criticism on Sunday from a People First Party (PFP) legislator, who said that leaders of Nauru and the Solomon Islands made secret visits to Taiwan to engage in "diplomatic extortion" prior to Chen's visit.
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
"We don't have enough money to compete with China, nor is dollar diplomacy our policy," Huang told reporters before the summit began yesterday morning.
"I believe our six Pacific allies are well aware of the fact that we do not win their trust by money, but with practical programs," he said.
In the declaration, the nation's six allies expressed their support for Taiwan's achievements in political democratization and economic development.
"Taiwan's allies acknowledge Taiwan as a sovereign nation whose right to participate in international organizations, such as the United Nations and World Health Organization, cannot be taken away," the statement said.
"Taiwan's allies are committed to continuing their firm support of Taiwan's entitlement to undertake full involvement in international and regional organizations and initiatives," the statement said.
All leaders promised to cooperate in eight areas, including law-enforcement training, digital government, tourism, health care and the protection of natural resources.
Before Chen's speech, Palauan President Tommy Remengesau Jr. delivered a welcoming speech to the guests, with special appreciation extended to Chen, who took a scuba dive during a visit last January, for helping bring a large number of Taiwanese tourists to Palau.
"President Chen also proved that Palau's waters are surrounded by friendly sharks. And yes, Palau sharks are harmless because they're vegetarians," Remengesau Jr. said, drawing laughter.
Saying that the meeting was long overdue, Remengesau said that it only made sense that Taiwan's allies come together to expand their partnership.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
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