The government yesterday donated US$1 million to minesweeping operations in Syria under the US’ Operation Inherent Resolve, bringing its total contributions to counter the rising threat from Islamic State operations to US$25 million in cash and goods.
Representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰) presented the donation to the US government, represented by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Washington Office managing director John Norris Jr, at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.
Holding the event at the institute was meant to highlight Taiwan’s role in global anti-terrorism efforts and was the result of negotiations between Taiwan and the US, Kao said.
Photo: CNA
The government wants Taiwanese to understand how their taxes are contributing to combating international terrorism, Kao said.
Since its acceptance into the US-ledGlobal Coalition to Defeat ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in 2014, Taiwan has focused on offering humanitarian aid and promoting stability, Kao said, adding that its efforts have been recognized by other partners time and again.
When asked if Taiwan had asked for the event to be held at the US Department of State, US Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Laura Stone said that the TECRO hosted the event, and that Taiwanese officials had been invited to the State Department to attend events on anti-terrorism.
Stone’s comment refers to Kao’s invitation to attend the first general meeting for all coalition members at the State Department in March last year.
At the event, US Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Terry Wolff said that Taiwan plays an important role in global anti-
terrorism efforts and thanked the nation for its contributions on behalf of Washington.
Taiwan also instructed a non-governmental organization to represent its interests in global coalition’s meeting in Morocco on June 25.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
‘WORLD’S LOSS’: Taiwan’s exclusion robs the world of the benefits it could get from one of the foremost practitioners of disease prevention and public health, Minister Chiu said Taiwan should be allowed to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an irreplaceable contributor to global health and disease prevention efforts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. He made the comment at a news conference in Taipei, hours before a Taiwanese delegation was to depart for Geneva, Switzerland, seeking to meet with foreign representatives for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the WHA, the WHO’s annual decisionmaking meeting, which would be held from Monday next week to May 27. As of yesterday, Taiwan had yet to receive an invitation. Taiwan has much to offer to the international community’s
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS