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.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS