Wyoming Governor Matt Mead yesterday oversaw the opening of a Wyoming trade office in Taipei designed to facilitate bilateral exchanges in technology, tourism and education, marking the launch of the first foreign mission office in Taiwan since 2008.
Mead, who is visiting Taiwan for the third time, told a news conference at the Sherwood Taipei (台北西華飯店) that the idea to set up the US state’s first overseas trade office in 30 years in Taiwan started to take shape after his first visit five years ago.
Mead said he chose Taiwan because of its democratic achievements, as well as the warmth and hospitality of its people.
Photo: Lu I-hsuan, Taipei Times
“But we also see the marvel that is Taiwan. The technology development this country has had has been nothing short of amazing. When we think about technology that we use, for example, in the US, we know so many of the components and inventions come from Taiwan and Taiwan people,” Mead said.
By establishing the State of Wyoming-Asia Pacific Trade Office, Mead said he hopes to expand his state’s technologies, such as “blockchain to livestock” and “clean coal,” and to promote tourism and educational exchanges between Taiwan and the “cowboy state.”
As Wyoming is leading research in transforming carbon dioxide into viable products, Mead said he would also like to see more cooperation with Taiwan in this area.
Asked if he has received any pressure from China, Mead said that Beijing contacted him during his trip to Taiwan last year, but not this time.
“We are an independent state and we believe Taiwan has been a good friend for the US and for Wyoming,” he said. “China will have a few points I am sure, but I am the governor of the state of Wyoming and my responsibility is to do the best for the citizens of Wyoming.”
Mead said he believes that establishing the office in Taiwan is in the best interest of Wyoming citizens and hopes it would also benefit Taiwanese.
Office Director Chester Chu (朱裕誠), who had worked in the private sector to promote Taiwan’s healthcare industry in the US, said the office is the first foreign mission to be established in Taiwan since 2008, calling it a “diplomatic breakthrough.”
Wyoming is the seventh US state to establish an office in Taiwan, Chu said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS