US Department Homeland Security (DHS) acting Assistant Secretary Mariko Silver will observe security measures in place at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport today, marking the highest-level incumbent DHS official to engage in such inspections with the Taiwanese government.
Kirk Skinner, a senior representative of Transportation Security under the DHS assigned to the US embassy in Tokyo, will also attend the inspections.
Asked for comment, Skinner, present on the last day of a two-day conference on homeland security in Taipei yesterday, said the practice was based on an agreement under which “we assist Taiwan with evaluating its airports.”
Skinner did not elaborate on which agreement the practice was based on.
COOPERATION
Speaking by telephone, Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of North American Affairs, said US officials had visited since an exchange of letters in December last year in which the two sides agreed on the principles for cooperation on improving travel security.
“It’s not the first time we have had DHS officials participating in such an inspection, but Silver is the highest-level US official to visit. With the signing of the letter agreement [to enhance airport security], the practices were written into a statutory document,” Tseng said.
Tseng said the purpose of the exchange of letters “is to use it as an umbrella agreement for future bilateral cooperative projects between the US and Taiwan, under which both sides will set up a task force working group with a view to work out cooperative projects to upgrade safety for passengers, refine passport security and bring forth anti-terrorism cooperation.”
AIR MARSHALS
The key points of the exchange of letters included joint efforts to improve travel security, combat counterfeited documents and share passengers’ information; to exchange information on suspected terrorists; to exchange information on reporting systems for lost and stolen passports; to expand cooperation on air marshals and to cooperate on airport security.
Silver arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday and will leave later today.
American Institute in Taiwan spokesman Christopher Kavanagh said Silver had held meetings with various ministries to discuss issues of mutual interest during her stay in Taiwan.
“Prior to her departure [today] she will meet with the aviation police and observe security measures in place at [Taiwan] Taoyuan International Airport,” Kavanagh said in a statement, adding that the DHS’ Transportation Security Administration regularly engages its Taiwanese counterparts on aviation security matters.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS