Former premier Yu Shyi-kun is to lead a Taiwanese delegation to the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump next month, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said yesterday.
Yu, a senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member who served as premier and secretary-general of the Presidential Office under the DPP administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), is to lead an 11-member delegation that includes lawmakers from across the political spectrum to the Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington, Huang said.
The government is sending the delegation to show how much Taiwan values its close relationship with the US, but also in response to the US delegation that attended the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in May, Huang said.
The US delegation was led by former US trade representative Ron Kirk.
The Taiwanese delegation is to include Yu’s wife, Yang Bao-yu (楊寶玉), Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), National Security Council adviser Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) and a number of lawmakers.
The delegation is scheduled to depart on Jan. 16 and return on Jan. 23. They plan to meet with US politicians, think tanks and Taiwanese expatriates, Huang said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3