The European Parliament’s Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the EU (INGE) is to send a delegation to Taiwan next month with the aim of exchanging experiences in countering false information and Internet interference by China, sources said.
Concerned about information security, the European Parliament on Oct. 6 voted to adopt a report on the state of the EU’s cyberdefense capabilities, urging the EU and its member states to further develop their comprehensive cybersecurity measures and defense policies to improve their resilience and mutual coordination.
The report also called on EU member states to step up cooperation with Taiwan, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and the US, as well as other like-minded democracies in the Indo-Pacific region, and to share their knowledge and experiences to respond to cyberthreats together.
Photo: Reuters
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it did not have information on the INGE’s reported plans to send a delegation to Taiwan, but added that it would work with relevant EU institutions, such as the European Parliament, to develop mutually beneficial ties.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is scheduled on Wednesday to vote on a report on Taiwan-EU political relations and cooperation.
The report supports deepening political relations with Taiwan, as well as increasing the nation’s participation in the international arena.
If passed, it would mark an important milestone in Europe’s support of Taiwan’s democracy.
Separately on Wednesday, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) is to lead a delegation focused on trade and investment to Slovakia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, while Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) is expected to visit Prague later this month to attend a conference at the invitation of the Czech Senate.
Lithuanian lawmaker Matas Maldeikis, chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Relations With Taiwan, is also to lead a delegation to the nation in December at the invitation of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉), who is head of the parliamentary friendship group between Taiwan and the Baltic states.
Maldeikis said in a recent interview that he specifically invited members of Lithuania’s parliament with different political stances, including members of the opposition, to join the trip so that they could see for themselves how Taiwan and Lithuania could benefit from cooperating with one another.
His dream is to find a niche for Lithuania’s businesses to cooperate with Taiwan, and to have the total amount of bilateral trade and investment between the nations surpass that of Lithuania and China, he said.
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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
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