Taiwan would take action to back Australians at a time when they are “under tremendous pressure,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, as tensions between Australia and China heated up.
Taipei and Canberra have been mutually supportive in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in exchanging critical medical materials in the early stages, Tsai said, before chairing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei.
Taiwan and Australia are like-minded nations, sharing the common values of democracy, freedom and human rights, while their economic and trade relations have also become close, she said.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
Canberra has been voicing support for Taiwan’s international participation, and Taiwanese are empathetic and supportive of Australians at a time when they are under tremendous pressure, Tsai said.
The government would deliberate the best means to let Australians feel the friendship of Taiwanese, she said.
Canberra-Beijing ties have soured after a series of trade and diplomatic disputes.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
Beijing on Saturday last week started imposing import tariffs of up to 212 percent on Australian wine, accusing Australia of dumping its wine on the Chinese market.
Canberra said that it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) on Monday posted on Twitter a doctored photograph showing a grinning Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan child holding a lamb. The caption read: “Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded that China remove the photograph and apologize for the “repugnant post,” but was rejected by Beijing.
Over the past few days, many government agencies and Internet users have shown their support for Australia by sharing photographs of Australian wine on social media.
“Australian wine will be featured at a White House holiday reception this week. Pity vino lovers in China who, due to Beijing’s coercive tariffs on Aussie vintners, will miss out. #AussieAussieAussieOiOiOi!” the US National Security Council wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday posted on Twitter a photograph of two bottles of wine, with a caption that read: “We stand in solidarity with #Australia by serving #FreedomWine at @MOFA_Taiwan.”
The Australian Office in Taipei is to mark its 40th anniversary next year, showing that the bilateral friendship is steadfast and enduring, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
Taiwan and Australia stand stronger together, and would continue to deepen their partnership to defend their shared values and maintain regional stability, she said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers joined their counterparts from around the world in calling on their constituents to drink Australian wine this month as part of a campaign to rebuff China’s tariffs.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of more than 200 lawmakers from 19 nations, on Tuesday released a video urging people to “join us in standing against [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s (習近平) authoritarian bullying” by buying Australian wine.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), chairwoman of the Taiwan-Australia Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association, yesterday posted a video on Facebook featuring a number of lawmakers extolling their support for Australian “freedom wine.”
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that Australia is experiencing the worst of China’s bullying, similar to Taiwan.
As to whether any Taiwanese lawmakers would join the alliance, Lo said that some have applied, but their applications are under review.
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said that he believes some would join when the time is right.
Ambassador to the Holy See Matthew Lee (李世明) also joined in the campaign on Tuesday by buying a box of Australian wine.
Lee on the embassy’s Facebook page posted a photograph of himself holding the box of wine, along with the message: “Fraternity is not a trend or a fashion ... but the result of concrete acts,” echoing Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s presentation of Pope Francis’ October encyclical Fratelli Tutti.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS