A new association boosting parliamentary exchanges between Taiwan and Canada was formed yesterday by more than 60 legislators from across the political spectrum.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Kuo-chung (
Cheng said it was his understanding that 109 Canadian parliamentarians had already joined the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group.
John McKay, president of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, extended his congratulations on the establishment of the parallel parliamentary group in Taiwan by video.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (
Addressing the ceremony, Lipman said Canada-Taiwan trade and economic relations have been cordial, with bilateral trade volume growing continuously.
Bilateral exchanges in other fields have also been growing steadily, Lipman said, adding that three Canadian parliamentary delegations have visited Taiwan over the past year.
He said the establishment of the Taiwan-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Association is of great significance in the development of relations between the two countries.
Kau said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will offer full support to the new parliamentary amity group as it marks an important step in promoting bilateral relations.
Despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, Kau said, Taiwan-Canada relations were close.
Taiwanese citizens make an average of 150,000 visits to Canada annually, making Taiwan Canada's seventh-largest source of tourist arrivals.
The number of Taiwanese expatriates in Canada, including those undertaking advanced study there, has also been rising steadily, said Kau.
The donation of offshore patrol vessel Kinmen to the Philippines includes provisions that protect Taiwanese fishers and facilitate security cooperation across the First Island Chain, officials said yesterday. The comment was made during the Cabinet’s comprehensive administrative report at the legislature after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) expressed concerns about the decision to give a ship to a country whose coast guard had in 2013 fired on a Taiwanese trawler and killed its captain without provocation. The Cabinet should lay out the safeguards that have been established to prevent the Philippine government from using the Kinmen to harass, expel
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Five customers who made purchases at 7-Eleven stores across Taiwan won the top NT$10 million (US$313,716) special prize in the July-August uniform invoice lottery, including one who spent just NT$27 on photocopying, the convenience store chain said today. The five special prize winners made their purchases at stores in Taoyuan, Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, 7-Eleven operator President Chain Store Corp said. The five winning purchases included NT$29 spent on snacks at a store in Taoyuan's Zhongli District (中壢), NT$27 on photocopying at a store in Taipei's Zhongzheng District (中正), NT$139 on City Cafe coffee and daily necessities at a store in Taipei's
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