A number of European Parliament (EP) members support Taiwan's efforts to join international organizations and are pushing for the EU Commission to open a representative office in Taipei, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Wang, heading a delegation of Taiwan legislators, met EP President Pat Cox and 29 members from five EP groups Wednesday. Wang said that all EP members he met, regardless of political background, felt that Taiwan should have better representation in the international community.
George Jarzembowski, president of pro-Taiwan faction the EP-Taiwan Group, congratulated Taiwan on its entry into the WTO after years of negotiation.
However, he said that Taiwan is still unable to gain admission into many other international organizations. This, he added, was unfair.
Jarzembowski stressed that as a friend of the ROC, members of the EP-Taiwan Group would urge their own governments to promote the EU's relations with Taiwan and call on the EU Commission to set up a representative office in Taipei as soon as possible.
Jarzembowski also called on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to hold talks, but stressed that any dialogue should be undertaken under the principles of respecting human rights, legality and equality.
Wang said that he very much appreciated the support from members of the pro-Taiwan group and promised to do all he could to foster good relations between Taiwan legislators and parliamentarians from European countries.
Commenting on the representative office issue, David Lin (
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it