A delegation comprising about 65 officials and businesspeople is preparing to visit Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia next month to explore economic and trade opportunities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The plan was first reported by Chinese-language online news outlet Up Media on Wednesday last week, but the ministry had refused to provide details about the trip until yesterday.
Led by National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), the delegation would travel to the three nations on a chartered flight from Oct. 20 to 30, Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei.
Photo: National Development Council
Since Czech Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil led an 89-person delegation to Taiwan last year, the nation has deepened its ties with central and eastern European countries in various areas, Chen said, thanking Lithuania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland for their donations of COVID-19 vaccines.
The delegation would comprise government officials and business representatives from sectors such as information and communication technology, precision medicine and electric vehicles, he said.
Some disease prevention specialists would accompany the delegation during the visit, he added.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The delegation is to explore opportunities for cooperation on smart machinery and smart city infrastructure — pertinent to the three nations’ strength in heavy industries — as well as the digital economy, start-ups and biotechnology, NDC Department of Overall Planning Director-General Connie Chang (張惠娟) said.
A Slovak delegation had planned to visit Taiwan in May, but due to a local COVID-19 outbreak the visit was rescheduled.
During the visit to Slovakia, the delegation would discuss the planned Taiwan trip with their counterparts, Chen said.
Asked about the progress of Lithuania’s plan to open a representative office in Taipei, Chen said the establishment is awaiting Lithuanian government administrative and legal procedures, and that the ministry is awaiting information from Vilnius before it could provide more details.
Preparations for Taiwan’s plan to establish a representative office in Lithuania are running smoothly, he said, adding that the ministry would share more information in due course.
Despite external “coercion,” Taiwan and Lithuania would not falter in their determination to develop their ties, Chen said, without naming China.
Since Lithuania in July decided to host a Taiwanese representative office, Beijing has been pressuring the Baltic nation to drop the plan.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as many lawmakers in the European Parliament, have voiced their support for Lithuania’s plan.
OPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimism The US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. US purchases of goods from China plunged almost 44 percent in December last year from 2024 to US$21.1 billion, US Department of Commerce data showed on Thursday. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. The soaring Taiwanese shipments to the US reflect the huge expansion in supplies of chips and servers for AI companies, which has completely changed
NON-NEGOTIABLE: The US president’s action ran counter to one of the US’ ‘six assurances’ on not consulting China about arms sales to Taiwan, US lawmakers said US President Donald Trump’s admission that he is discussing arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is “alarming and a blatant violation of US policy and the six assurances,” US Representative Ro Khanna said on Tuesday. Trump on Monday said he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Xi warned him not to do so. “I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about warnings raised by Beijing during a phone call with Xi over
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News agency reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers. About 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, for drills above international waters off South Korea’s western coast, the news outlet cited unidentified military sources as saying. While the US planes did not enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, the report said. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to monitor and effectively respond
RSS