The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the US Senate’s and the US House of Representatives’ call for military exchanges between senior Taiwanese and US officials in the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2017 fiscal year, expressing gratitude to the US Congress for its continuous efforts to promote military cooperation between Taiwan and the US.
“Such words were already included in the two houses’ separate versions of the NDAA for next year when they deliberated in the first half of this year,” ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said.
Wang said the ministry welcomed the retention of the language in the two US government bodies’ post-negotiation versions, and would continue to keep close tabs on the pending votes on the bill and the ensuing legislative process.
“The ministry also appreciates the US Congress’ continued endeavors to strengthen Taipei-Washington ties, and to encourage bilateral military cooperation and exchanges,” Wang added.
According to the NDAA report, which was released on Wednesday, section 1284 of the document says that the US Secretary of Defense should enact a program of exchanges between senior Taiwanese and US military officers and officials to improve military-to-military relations.
It defines the exchanges as an activity, exercise, event or observation opportunity between Taiwanese and US military officials.
The report said the exchanges should focus on seven areas — threat analysis; military doctrine; force planning; logistical support; intelligence collection and analysis; operational tactics, techniques and procedures; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The officials participating in the exchanges should include active-duty generals or flag officers of the US armed forces, as well US Department of Defense civilian officials ranked assistant secretary of defense or above, the report said.
The US House of Representative and the US Senate are set to vote on the proposal later this week.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS