The US Department of State has asked for an increase of US$16 million in next year’s budget for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
The increase is intended to account for an expected loss of revenues when Taiwan qualifies for the US’ visa-waiver program (VWP), and the AIT is no longer able to charge visa for visits to the US.
As a result, the AIT budget is expected to rise to US$37 million next year, up from US$21 million this year.
The figures were released on Monday as part of the department’s budget request for fiscal 2013.
While US President Barack Obama’s overall election year budget is expected to be highly controversial on Capitol Hill, the request for extra money for the AIT is expected to be approved.
The budget document says that the AIT fosters strong, but unofficial ties between the US and Taiwan and that “this responsibility is more important than ever.”
“AIT serves as the advocate to Taiwan authorities for US political, economic and security interests and analyzes and reports on political and economic events critical to the US,” it said.
“AIT serves as the platform for significant bilateral military, law enforcement and intelligence cooperation and facilitates significant US arms sales to Taiwan,” it said.
In recent years, visa processing fees have generated about US$19 million annually and most of this will be lost as Taiwan moves toward acceptance in the VWP.
“Taiwan’s entry into the VWP is among the United States’ top priority goals for its relations with Taiwan,” the budget request said.
The visa fees have been used to pay rent, utilities and other operating costs.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS