About 100 little-known agreements are the “glue that binds America and Taiwan together,” American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Washington Office Managing Director Joe Donovan said.
Speaking at the 46th annual East Coast Taiwanese American Conference, Donovan said that among the areas in which the US and Taiwan cooperate were space exploration, weather forecasting, fighting infectious diseases, combatting global terrorism and global warming.
“It’s the secret behind a great success story,” he said, adding that working under the auspices of the agreements, the US collaborates closely with Taiwan “in ways that benefit both.”
The US National Cancer Institute and the Academia Sinica work to identify proteins that derive from alterations in cancer genomes, he said, while hospital personnel are being trained to treat tuberculosis patients and to better understand tuberculosis transmission and tuberculosis control practices.
Donovan said that one of the most ambitious cooperation programs involves the collection of information on greenhouse gas emissions and indoor air pollutants to study the recycling of industrial waste.
In March, 36 schools in the US and 36 schools in Taiwan were paired in project-based learning to focus on sustainability topics including energy, water and climate change, he said.
Another agreement allows US law enforcement agencies to exchange information with Taiwan on potential international terrorists, he said, adding that the US and Taiwan use data from satellites to detect, monitor and analyze marine oil spills.
Donovan said the special agreements were a tool to support Taiwan’s security, its freedom from coercion, to promote economic prosperity and diversity and to “help Taiwan enjoy the dignity and respect it deserves in the global community.”
“Taiwan has become a model of democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law. It respects freedom of religion. It acts to protect the weak and the innocent, including victims of human trafficking, ” he said. “We are proud of our partnership with Taiwan and look forward to doing even more in the days ahead.”
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
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