President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday arrived in Paraguay, where she and Paraguayan president-elect Mario Abdo Benitez agreed to further expand cooperation.
Tsai and Abdo Benitez agreed to focus on investment, infrastructure and trade as the focus of future relations, Hugo Saguier, a foreign affairs advisor to Abdo Benitez, said following the one-hour meeting.
Saguier, who attended the meeting, said that details of ventures between the two nations would be made public when Abdo Benitez visits Taiwan in October.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
“After the meeting, we reconfirmed relations between the two nations,” Saguier said. “We will continue to maintain relations with Taiwan as the two nations share the same diplomatic values, which is irreplaceable to Paraguay.”
Under the framework, Taiwanese firms would be encouraged to invest in education, medical care and technology infrastructure projects in Paraguay to boost economic development and residents’ livelihoods, Ambassador to Paraguay Diego Chou (周麟) said.
Three government-funded investment firms would be started by Taiwan to offer Paraguay assistance on agriculture, technology and development projects through the provision of low-interest loans, said National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥), who also attended the meeting.
Abdo Benitez promised to advance ties between the two nations in the hope that Paraguay might serve as a hub for Taiwanese manufacturers considering moving into the South American market, Tsai Ming-yen said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tsai Ing-wen met Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and gave a keynote speech at the opening of a course for students likely to study at a technology university jointly founded by the two nations, which has yet to officially open.
Tsai encouraged the students to apply to vocational training scholarship programs in Taiwan.
“Taiwan is Paraguay’s best friend,” she said. “We are glad to share our experience with you and contribute to a better future for Paraguay.”
Taiwan and Paraguay in December last year agreed to found the university to train engineers. Paraguay funded the construction, while Taiwan has provided teachers, curriculum plans and lab equipment.
Tsai Ing-wen invited Abdo Benitez to visit Taiwan in October and attend the Double Ten National Day celebrations, Tsai Ming-yen said, adding that the two sides would further discuss cooperative ventures in Taipei.
Later on Tuesday, Tsai Ing-wen attended a banquet with Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, where they exchanged views on possible cooperative projects between the two nations.
Yesterday, she was to attend the inauguration of Abdo Benitez before heading to Belize for a three-day visit, during which she is to be decorated by Governor-General Colville Young and meet with Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow.
Asked about Tsai Ing-wen’s public address during her Monday stopover in Los Angeles, US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Tuesday said: “Our policy on Taiwan has not changed. The United States remains committed to our US ‘one China’ policy based on the Three Joint Communiques under the Taiwan Relations Act.”
“The United States, in regard to this trip, facilitates from time to time representatives of the Taiwan authorities to transit the United States. Those are largely undertaken out of consideration for the safety and comfort of those travelers and that is in keeping with our ‘one China’ policy,” she said
Nauert declined to say whether the US government would be happy for Tsai Ing-wen to speak in Washington during a stopover.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
EXCEPTIONS: Some people could be allowed to reclaim citizenship for humanitarian reasons or because of their contributions to the nation, the interior ministry said Taiwan would soon unveil new rules banning Taiwanese residents of China from reclaiming their citizenship if they participated in Beijing’s propaganda activities, the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday. The measures were drafted following President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 directive that the government counter China’s espionage and influence campaigns aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty, the ministry said in a preview of the rules. The changes would affect Taiwanese who lost their citizenship after becoming permanent residents of China or obtaining passports issued by China, it said. Under the measures, former Taiwanese nationals living in China who had made statements denying the
RSS