Interchange Association, Japan Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi was among the first foreign representatives to visit Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday to congratulate her on her election as president.
Having promised her supporters on Saturday night that the celebrations of the party’s election win would only last one night and she would start work for her new office when the sun rose yesterday, Tsai had a busy day planned.
She met Ohashi behind closed doors and the DPP later issued a statement quoting Tsai as saying that “she was joyful that friends from Japan maintained good ties with the DPP even during the party’s most difficult times in the past eight years.”
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
Tsai also said that further cooperation in economy and trade would be the key in future Taiwan-Japan relations, including resuming talks on a free-trade agreement, the statement said.
Tsai attended a luncheon for nearly 100 people, mostly members of her family, friends and overseas supporters at the Taipei Ambassador Hotel.
Former US senator and Alaska governor Frank Murkowski, who sat next to Tsai during the luncheon, said it was a relaxed occasion, and he had a pleasant conversation with her, but they did not touch on serious issues.
Murkowski said the future of the Taiwan-US relationship would be very solid, and the statement from the US Department of State following Tsai’s victory was very positive.
As for the cross-strait relationship, Murkowski said it would be Beijing’s call.
“The people in Taiwan have spoken, they have spoken in favor of democracy overwhelmingly,” he told reporters outside the hotel.
If Beijing is smart enough, it should recognize that “the train is moving” and decide whether to get on, he said.
Throughout the day yesterday, hundreds of supporters poured into Tsai’s campaign headquarters, waiting in long lines for a last chance to purchase campaign souvenirs.
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
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
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
RSS