As part of a 12-day tour with visits to six US cities, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) addressed nearly 1,000 Taiwanese-Americans and others in New York City on Friday night, who came out to show their support for her and her campaign for next year’s presidential election.
“This is a city filled with hope,” Tsai told the mostly Taiwanese crowd, with people having traveled from Boston, Philadelphia, Rhode Island and elsewhere to listen to her address.
Tsai’s stop in Brooklyn, at the Marriott Hotel near the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, came after a series of closed-door meetings over the past week with Washington officials and politicians.
Photo: CNA
US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain and Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat who is a ranking member of that committee, were among the participants in the talks, sources said.
In her New York speech, Tsai asked Taiwanese to have confidence in Taiwan and said that the DPP is the only party that is capable of uniting the nation.
“Taiwanese value the freedom of democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly,” she said.
Tsai’s trip drew criticism from Chinese officials.
“We demand that the United States strictly abide by the one China principle ... [and] not send the wrong signal to Taiwan,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) said at a news conference on Friday, according to Reuters.
Tsai emphasized peace as the only option for resolving conflicts in Asia.
“Taiwan is eager to share and inspire our neighbors in Asia, to inspire and make Asia a better place,” she said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
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
RSS