Taiwan and the US are to hold their second economic partnership dialogue tomorrow to forge closer bilateral ties, the US Department of State said on Friday.
The department said in a statement that US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez would lead the US at the dialogue, known as the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue.
The second round of the dialogue would be conducted under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US, the department said.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“Our partnership is built on strong two-way trade and investment, people-to-people ties, and in common defense of freedom and shared democratic values,” the statement said.
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that as the dialogue would be conducted virtually, no Taiwanese delegation would be visiting Washington.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday that Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) would lead the Taiwanese delegation, with other foreign ministry officials also attending.
The dialogue would focus on a broad range of topics, such as the global supply chain, 5G connectivity, cybersecurity, and science and technology, it said.
The first round of the dialogue was held in Washington in November last year, with Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳政祺) leading a Taiwanese delegation to the US, while another team led by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) joined from Taipei for virtual discussions.
The US team was led by then-US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Keith Krach.
TECRO said on Friday that tomorrow’s dialogue would be meaningful for the two sides to boost their economic cooperation as they aim to bolster their partnership amid an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwan hopes the two sides will work more closely in areas that would benefit them both and help them facilitate prosperity, security and a good future for people from both sides, it added.
The dialogue is the highest-level mechanism for Taiwan-US economic exchanges and cooperation.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
CHAMPIONS: President Lai congratulated the players’ outstanding performance, cheering them for marking a new milestone in the nation’s baseball history Taiwan on Sunday won their first Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS) title in 29 years, as Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School defeated a team from Las Vegas 7-0 in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was Taiwan’s first championship in the annual tournament since 1996, ending a nearly three-decade drought. “It has been a very long time ... and we finally made it,” Taiwan manager Lai Min-nan (賴敏男) said after the game. Lai said he last managed a Dong Yuan team in at the South Williamsport in 2015, when they were eliminated after four games. “There is
Democratic nations should refrain from attending China’s upcoming large-scale military parade, which Beijing could use to sow discord among democracies, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) said. China is scheduled to stage the parade on Wednesday next week to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The event is expected to mobilize tens of thousands of participants and prominently showcase China’s military hardware. Speaking at a symposium in Taichung on Thursday, Shen said that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to New Delhi.
FINANCES: The KMT plan to halt pension cuts could bankrupt the pension fund years earlier, undermining intergenerational fairness, a Ministry of Civil Service report said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposal to amend the law to halt pension cuts for civil servants, teachers and military personnel could accelerate the depletion of the Public Service Pension Fund by four to five years, a Ministry of Civil Service report said. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Aug. 14 said that the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) should be amended, adding that changes could begin as soon as after Saturday’s recall and referendum. In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said that the fund already faces a severe imbalance between revenue