The government yesterday welcomed an “unofficial” delegation sent by US President Joe Biden, while another delegation led by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry was headed to Shanghai.
Biden’s first delegation to Taiwan is made up of former US senator Chris Dodd, and former US deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg.
They are to stay in Taiwan until tomorrow.
Photo: CNA
Their arrival, on a chartered flight, had been kept confidential until media reported the visit yesterday morning, after which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a short notice that they were expected to arrive at 2:40pm.
The flight landed at about 3:05pm at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), where the delegation was received by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen and other officials.
“We hope you enjoy your visit & look forward to working together to strengthen the #Taiwan #US partnership,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) wrote on Twitter.
Tsai is due to meet with the US officials at the Presidential Office in Taipei at 10am today and host a dinner with them at her official residence in the evening, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement.
Dodd is known for his friendship with Biden and he was a crucial advocate of the US’ Taiwan Relations Act, which took effect in 1979, Chang said.
Armitage and Steinberg served as deputy secretaries of state during the administrations of former US presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama respectively, he said, adding that they have visited Taiwan several times and have been friendly toward the nation.
Over the past weeks, the ministry had been exchanging opinions with its Washington counterpart about the visit, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said, without saying when the plan was finalized.
Biden sending a heavyweight delegation to Taiwan less than three months since his inauguration — at a time when many important positions in his administration are not yet filled — shows Washington’s consistent support for Taiwan and “rock solid” bilateral ties, the ministry said in a news release.
The delegation is to meet with Tsai, Wu and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to discuss many critical issues related to bilateral ties, it said.
Meanwhile, Kerry was to arrive in Shanghai yesterday evening and is to stay until tomorrow.
His visit marks the first to China by an official in the Biden administration.
Kerry is to travel to Seoul on Saturday, ahead of a US-hosted two-day virtual climate summit starting on Earth Day on Thursday next week.
Asked about the planned agenda for the meeting between Chinese Special Envoy on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua (解振華) and Kerry, and whether Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would accept Biden’s invitation to the summit, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) on Tuesday said that no information could be offered at that time.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS