American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen, whose three-year term ends this summer, was yesterday recognized by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for his contributions to Taiwan-US relations.
In accepting the Order of the Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon, Christensen said he was pleased to see growth in bilateral ties as the two sides weathered the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year and a half.
“The achievements we have reached together during that time are a true testament of the determination and creativity that we share in our efforts to advance the relationship,” Christensen said during a ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA
The recent outbreak in Taiwan has brought the two nations even closer, he said.
“The events of recent weeks will be among my most cherished memories during my tenure as AIT director,” he said.
They include three US senators arriving on June 6 aboard a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III freighter to announce the donation of 750,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to Taiwan, and the delivery on Sunday of 2.5 million vaccine doses — more than three times the amount promised — he said.
Progress has also been made between Taiwan and the US in areas such as security cooperation, economic relations and people-to-people ties, Christensen said.
The US, based on its commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to support Taiwan’s self-defense efforts, has also approved nearly US$17 billion of arms sales to the nation, he said.
He was also pleased that talks under the Taiwan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement would resume in the near future, he added.
“I may be leaving Taiwan, but Taiwan will never leave me,” Christensen said.
Tsai lauded his contributions to bilateral relations, saying that the achievements represented real progress and real friendship between the countries.
On Thursday, Christensen and AIT Deputy Director Raymond Greene also received awards from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their diplomatic achievements.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
AIR ALERT: China’s reservation of airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea could be an attempt to test the US’ response ahead of a Trump-Xi meeting, the NSB head said China’s attempts to infiltrate Taiwan are systematic, planned and targeted, with activity shifting from recruiting mid-level military officers to rank-and-file enlisted personnel, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) integrates national security, intelligence operations and “united front” efforts into a dense network to conduct intelligence gathering and espionage in Taiwan, Tsai said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. It uses specific networks to screen targets through exchange activities and recruiting local collaborators to establish intelligence-gathering organizations, he said. China is also shifting who it targets to lower-ranking military personnel,
RSS