Representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰) on Wednesday attended a meeting of a US-led coalition to counter the Islamic State (IS) group in Washington.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presided over the meeting of the Global Coalition on the Defeat of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), the first since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
The coalition, which was established in 2014 during the administration of then-US president Barack Obama, has 68 members.
Photo: CNA
In addition to Taiwan, coalition members in the Asia-Pacific region include Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.
Taiwan’s participation has been in the area of humanitarian assistance, such as providing 350 temporary housing units to Iraqi refugees displaced by the militant group in 2014 and donating US$100,000 to provide shelter for refugees.
Taiwan’s representative office in the US declined to comment when asked how Taipei plans to continue its humanitarian efforts in the region.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) yesterday said that as a member of the international community, Taiwan has adamantly adhered to the universal values of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights.
“With that spirit in mind and based on our shared values, the nation has actively supported and participated in international cooperation on emerging issues, such as humanitarian aid, medical assistance, disease prevention and research, anti-terrorism, and combating transnational crime,” he said.
“These efforts are aimed at making Taiwan an indispensable partner of the international community,” he added.
The meeting coincided with a terror attack in London, where an assailant in a car plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, before running through the gates of the British Parliament and fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer.
He was shot dead by police officers.
The attack left four people dead, including the assailant, and at least 40 injured.
In a written statement, Tillerson condemned “these horrific acts of violence,” saying that “whether they were carried out by troubled individuals or by terrorists, the victims know no difference.”
He also extended his condolences to the victims’ families.
Trump telephoned British Prime Minister Theresa May to offer his condolences over the attack, praising the “prompt response” by UK security forces and first responders, and pledged the US’ “full support and cooperation” in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS