President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday told Taiwanese expatriates in the US that she is leading Taiwan through a comprehensive transformation and hoped that all Taiwanese expatriates could join the effort.
“Taiwan is undergoing change, in a good direction,” Tsai said at a welcoming dinner in Houston, Texas, hosted by Taiwanese expatriates, after arriving for a 27-hour transit stop on the return leg of her visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Paraguay and Belize.
“I’m at the helm of the country, I’m determined and confident that I will lead Taiwan, with my team, through a thorough transformation,” Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
She asked the audience to trust her and her administration and join the transformation effort.
Turning to Taiwan-US relations, Tsai hailed the US’ passage of the Taiwan Travel Act this year and its decision to continue arms sales to Taiwan as indications of a deepening mutually beneficial partnership between the two countries.
Taiwan and the US have also been collaborating on efforts to promote public health and gender equality, and to crack down on cross-border crimes, Tsai told the more than 1,000 guests at the dinner.
“Taiwan-US ties are the ray of light we expect” amid a growing threat to freedom of speech and to the lives of Taiwanese citizens, Tsai said, apparently referring to China’s increasing efforts to suppress Taiwan.
“Thank you for keeping the light on,” Tsai said, addressing US representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson and Al Green, who also attended the dinner.
It was Tsai’s second transit stop in Houston since taking office. The first was in January last year, when she made an official visit to four of Taiwan’s Latin American diplomatic allies.
Tsai departed Taiwan on Aug. 12 and had an overnight stopover in Los Angeles en route to Paraguay. She was to return to Taiwan last night.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
RSS