President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that Taiwan would show the world its ambition to be part of regional economic integration, as she hailed the significant progress made toward completing a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal at last week’s APEC economic leaders’ meeting.
The progress made proved that promoting comprehensive economic and trade cooperation through dialogue and exchanges remains the common hope of all 11 nations involved in the TPP, Tsai said at a meeting with the Taiwanese delegation to the APEC summit.
Following the US’ withdrawal from the TPP, the remaining 11 nations, led by Japan, said on the sidelines of the APEC summit on Saturday that they had “agreed on the core elements” of the TPP, which is now officially called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Photo: CNA
The progress poses opportunities and challenges for Taiwan in its bid to join the TPP, Tsai said, adding that her administration would strive to show international partners in the region Taiwan’s desire to be part of regional economic integration by continuing to transform its industrial structure and improve business fundamentals.
Taiwan will seek out opportunities to make its voice heard in the world, continue to boost its international visibility and demonstrate what it can contribute to the international community, Tsai added.
Tsai’s envoy to the APEC summit, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), said that the delegation did its utmost to ensure that the world heard Taiwan’s voice.
He said Taiwan shared its experience in the empowerment of women, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and its efforts to tackle climate change during the summit.
Tsai praised the delegation’s work at the summit held in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.
She also praised Soong for helping leaders of other countries understand Taiwan’s key role in developing regional economic and trade links.
Tsai said Soong greatly helped advance the goals of the government’s New Southbound Policy through informal talks with nations that are the focus of the policy.
The policy is aimed at forging closer economic and trade ties with Southeast and South Asian nations, as well as New Zealand and Australia.
During the summit, Soong and other delegation members held bilateral or multilateral talks with leaders and representatives of APEC and ASEAN, including those from the US, Russia and Japan, Tsai said.
Taiwanese delegates also exchanged greetings with Chinese officials, she said.
Taiwan is determined to support the establishment of multilateral and regional free-trade agreements and enhance cooperation with countries in the region under the APEC framework, Tsai said.
After meeting with Tsai, Soong, in response to media queries, said that during his 30-minute meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday, Abe told him that all Asian nations share a common hope for regional peace.
However, when asked about the relationship between Taiwan and China, Abe did not give any suggestion on what Taiwan should do to address the cross-strait issue, Soong said.
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