President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday expressed the hope that Taiwan and Denmark could continue to cooperate on renewable energy sources during a meeting with a Danish parliamentary delegation.
The delegation was led by former Danish parliament speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has returned to Taiwan several times since her first visit 32 years ago and is an “important friend” of Taiwan, Tsai said at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Interactions between Taiwan and Denmark, on both the government level and between private individuals, have grown over the past few years, Tsai added.
Photo: CNA
The two nations have also partnered to develop various industries, she said, citing as an example Danish investment in Taiwan’s offshore wind industry.
Taiwan completed phase 2 of its first offshore wind farm on Wednesday last week and it plans to generate 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, Tsai told the delegation.
The nation hopes to continue to work closely with Denmark on its path toward energy transformation, Tsai said.
In addition to renewable energy sources, environmental protection, innovative design, care of the elderly, agriculture and farming are also key industries that Denmark is developing and from which Taiwan can learn, she added.
“Taiwan hopes to continue to strengthen its partnership with Denmark in different fields and to expand the Asian market together,” Tsai said.
Tsai later yesterday met with a delegation from the Washington-based International Republican Institute (IRI).
“The recent democracy protests in Hong Kong have made Taiwanese cherish our democracy and way of life even more,” Tsai told the delegation. “Every time I meet with foreign visitors, disinformation is a focal point in our discussions. So I want to thank the IRI for sending experts to Taiwan this year to understand the disinformation challenges that we are facing, so we can share experiences fighting disinformation and work together to protect democracy.”
Meanwhile, Tsai responded again to calls from Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, for her to take a leave of absence to campaign for the Jan. 11 elections.
“I believe as long as every politician works hard in their position, and does what they are supposed to do, the country will become better,” Tsai wrote on Facebook.
Han on Tuesday announced that he was taking a leave of absence to focus on his presidential campaign.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui
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