The US will show the positive role Taiwan plays in Asia and in the world next year to mark the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman James Moriarty said yesterday.
“Next year, Taiwan and the United States will celebrate a milestone in the relationship before the anniversary of the TRA,” Moriarty said, referring to the law enacted by the US Congress in 1979 after Washington cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
“In that anniversary year, I look forward to further advancing across the many dimensions of this partnership,” Moriarty said.
Photo: CNA
“The coming year will, I am sure, show to all why the US considers Taiwan to be a vital and reliable partner in Asia and a force for good in the world,” he said.
Moriarty, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a week-long visit, made the remarks at a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office.
Moriarty said his visit was an opportunity to take stock of a flourishing US-Taiwan relationship and a comprehensive, durable and mutually beneficial partnership.
That relationship is grounded not only in the shared interests of the US and Taiwan, “but just as importantly in our shared values, in particular our support for democracy and human rights,” he said.
Moriarty is to participate in a committee meeting of the Global Cooperation Training Framework (GCTF) to plan its activities for the coming year.
“The GCTF is recognition of how much Taiwan has to offer to the international community and an affirmation of US support for finding ways to assist Taiwan in not only preserving, but expanding its international space,” he said.
Since the GCTF was established in 2015, it has brought together more than 200 experts and academics from 30 nations to address global issues, such as health, women’s empowerment and media literacy, Tsai said.
“Our government will continue to increase the frequency and scope of the issues and the number of participants in GCTF activities,” she said.
Taiwan would continue to contribute to the Indo-Pacific region through the government’s New Southbound Policy, Tsai said.
“These achievements have not gone unnoticed by our international friends. I hope that the US and other countries will join us to work together for a more prosperous and stable region,” the president said.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS