Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers launched two new parliamentary friendship organizations yesterday aimed at promoting bilateral ties with Belgium and Slovenia.
Pingtung County DPP Legislator Chung Chia-Pin (鍾佳濱) led the preparatory work and was named chairman of both the Taiwan-Belgium Congressional Association and the Taiwan-Slovenia Congressional Association.
“We can develop more active interactions with our parliamentary counterparts in Belgium and Slovenia to enhance commerce and business investment.” Chung said. “The organizations can also expand foreign relations with European countries and support President Tsai Ing-wen’s [蔡英文] new efforts on international diplomacy.”
Legislative Speaker Su Chia-chuan (蘇嘉全) is to serve as honorary chairman of both organizations, which are mostly made up of DPP members, with the addition of New Power Party legislators Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明).
European Economic and Trade Office Head Madeleine Majorenko also attended the event.
In his address, Belgian Representative to Taiwan Rik van Droogenbroeck said that a delegation of Belgian government officials and parliamentarians visited Taiwan earlier this year, and that frequency of official Belgium visits has increased in recent years, as officials have been impressed with Taiwan’s social and political developments toward a free democratic system.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) said that he would consider promoting soccer diplomacy to broaden Taiwan’s international friendship and sporting links, as Belgium are among the favorites for Euro 2016, which starts next month, and Belgian-Taiwanese player Xavier Chen (陳昌源) is a popular figure, who many think should captain the Taiwan national team.
With regards to Slovenia, Chung said that many Taiwanese companies are interested in exploring business opportunities and developing bilateral trade with the country.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to