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.”
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
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 Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS