President Tsai Ing-wen, former minister of national defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) and other top officials yesterday in Taipei inaugurated the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research think tank.
Feng is to serve as the institute’s chairman and former Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Lin Cheng-yi (林正義) as its chief executive officer.
The institute has seven research departments and one research center, and employs 64 people.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
It is tasked with administering research programs and international exchange initiatives, and advising the government on national security, military defense policies and regional security, as well as conducting studies on China’s military and political development.
“Taiwan is facing severe challenges in the international arena, and this underscores the necessity for establishing this think tank,” Tsai told the inauguration ceremony.
The president said she has three expectations of the institute: Helping the government stay on top of national security and strategic developments, recruiting and cultivating talent for research in these fields, and serving as a platform for interaction and collaboration with the outside world.
The institute plans to organize international conferences, and publish regular government reports and research papers, she said.
“We will improve the channels for dialogue with other nations in the region and set up a platform for mutual interaction. By enhancing mutual trust on regional security and strategic issues, we can create more possibilities for collaboration with other nations,” Tsai said.
Feng agreed, saying the institute would be an important mechanism for international collaboration and dialogue.
The institute is to have an annual budget of NT$125 million (US$4.2 million) and is to be based at the former headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense on Boai Road and Gueiyang Street near the Presidential Office Building.
The institute has hired 17 full-time researchers, all with doctorates, along with 17 research assistants, all of whom have international study and work experience, Lin said.
They are proficient in English and other regional languages, including Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian, he said, adding that their security and defense research focus on the nations where these languages are spoken.
The institute is under the auspices of the government and the Legislative Yuan, and is mandated to publish national reports to present to officials and legislators, which includes publications on annual assessments of Taiwan’s national security, advanced military defense technologies and research into the development of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Lin said.
The diplomatic corps of Taiwan’s allies, and representatives of other nations with trade offices and consulates in Taipei also attended the ceremony, including several officials from the American Institute in Taiwan.
Former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, along with executives from prominent security think tanks, including the US’ Center for Strategic and International Studies and the UK’s Royal United Service Institute, also sent pre-recorded messages of congratulations.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS