The 2001 Joint Conference of the ROC-USA and US-ROC Business Councils (中美工商聯合會), scheduled to be held in Boston Sept. 17 to 19, has been canceled for safety reasons in the wake of Tuesday's terror attacks in the US, sources from the US-ROC Business Council said Wednesday.
In consideration of the safety of the more than 500 government officials, lawmakers, and business and industrial heavyweights from Taiwan and the US who were scheduled to take part in the annual event, the US-ROC Business Council decided to call off the meeting after consulting with officials from the ROC-USA Business Council, said an official from the US-ROC Business Council.
Frank Carlucci, chairman of the US-ROC Business Council, said he is deeply disappointed with the development, especially after both business councils spent so much time and effort preparing for the annual conference.
Noting the seriousness of the current safety situation in the US after the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington Carlucci told his counterpart in Taipei, Wang Chung-yu (
This marks the first time ever that the annual Joint Conference of the ROC-USA and US-ROC Business Councils, an important mechanism helping foster bilateral business and industrial exchanges between the US and Taiwan, has been canceled since its inception 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs, Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), who was previously scheduled to leave for the US Sunday to take part in a series of trade-promotion activities, was forced to cancel his plans in the wake of the apparently coordinated terrorist attacks that brought down the symbol of America's financial power and caused catastrophic damage to a portion of the building that houses the US military's nerve center.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS