President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday urged Canberra to start negotiations on an economic cooperation agreement with Taipei, saying that it would be mutually advantageous.
With the COVID-19 pandemic restructuring supply chains, it is an ideal moment for the nations to re-examine their trade and economic cooperation policies, Tsai said in a virtual address to the forum hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a Canberra-based think tank.
Trade between the nations has been mutually beneficial, as Australia is a major source of Taiwan’s meat and dairy products and health supplements, and Taiwan is a major supplier to Australia of telecommunication components, refined petroleum, computers, motorcycles and bicycles, she said.
Photo: CNA
Australia has become the nation’s second-largest supplier of natural gas, and Australian companies play a key role in the establishment of Taiwan’s offshore wind farms, she added.
Given these strong economic ties, Tsai said she hopes that they would in the “very near future” begin negotiations on a Taiwan-Australia economic cooperation agreement, to uncover more opportunities that benefit the nations.
One of these opportunities is the nation’s inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would benefit Australia, a member state of the agreement, she said.
Tsai also called for more efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges.
More than 10,000 Taiwanese each year visit Australia as part of a working holiday program, and there are about 18,000 Taiwanese students studying in Australia.
She invited Australians to visit Taiwan to taste its delicious cuisine and see its beautiful scenery.
Tsai also addressed cybersecurity issues, saying that private and public institutions in Taiwan and Australia in the past few years have been the targets of large-scale, systematic cyberattacks.
Over the past few years, the Taiwanese government has been dedicated to developing its information and communication security industry, she said, adding that Taiwan hopes to use its experience, expertise and technology to assist countries in the Indo-Pacific region, especially Pacific island nations.
The nations have a common goal to uphold information and communication security in the Pacific, with Australia leading efforts with its Cyber Bootcamp Project and Pacific Cyber Security Operational Network, she said.
Taiwan is setting up Taiwan Digital Opportunity Centers for diplomatic allies in the Pacific, helping them train experts and improve their digital environment, she said.
Both nations, like the rest of the world, are facing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but as democratic allies, they have found ways to assist each other in these trying circumstances, Tsai said.
In March, as Taiwan grappled with a shortage of materials for epidemic prevention, Australia graciously offered 1 million liters of alcohol to make more than 4 million bottles of 75 percent alcohol sanitizer, she said.
In exchange, Taiwan provided 3 tonnes of non-woven fabric, the key raw material for mask production, she said.
Thanks to this kind of mutual assistance, Taiwan and Australia were able to weather the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, she added.
Meanwhile, medical research teams from Chang Gung University and Melbourne’s Monash University have been working to develop a treatment for COVID-19, and have achieved positive results, Tsai said.
It is through this kind of cooperation, transparency and information sharing that the nations can overcome the pandemic, she said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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