The head of the Lithuanian parliament’s Taiwan friendship group yesterday said he and other lawmakers from Baltic states are visiting Taiwan to show their support for the country amid Chinese threats.
“We are here to express solidarity with you,” Lithuanian Member of Parliament Matas Maldeikis told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during a visit yesterday morning.
Maldeikis is leading a joint delegation comprising legislators from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who are to participate in a conference on democracy later this week in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Maldeikis said during his meeting with Tsai that the delegation members respect Taiwanese’s “perseverance and wisdom” in managing to build a successful economy and promoting democracy while balancing a “complicated geopolitical environment.”
He said that the Lithuanian government’s pro-Taiwan policy has received wide support at home because “preserving freedom and the rules-based international order is of vital interest for both Lithuania and Taiwan.”
Maldeikis said that he hopes the soon-to-be-opened Lithuanian trade office will help expand the partnership between the countries and contribute to closer relations between Taiwan and the EU.
Tsai invited the lawmakers to attend the Open Parliament Forum on Thursday and Friday, which is to discuss the promotion of democracy and open parliaments.
Their visit marks the first time lawmakers from all three Baltic states have sent a joint delegation to Taiwan, Tsai said.
“Taiwan and the Baltic nations share similar experiences of breaking free from authoritarian rule and fighting for freedom,” she said.
“The democracy we enjoy today was hard-earned. This is something we all understand most profoundly,” she added.
As the world faces challenges caused by the expansion of authoritarianism and threat of disinformation, Taiwan is willing to share its experience combating disinformation with its European friends, Tsai said.
Other members of the delegation that visited the Presidential Office yesterday included Janis Vucans and Juri Jaanson, members of parliament and chairs of Taiwan friendship groups in Latvia and Estonia respectively.
They are to join lawmakers from Belize and Mexico for the two-day forum organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legislative Yuan and US nonprofit National Democratic Institute.
A host of experts, academics and lawmakers from countries including Argentina, Australia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Sri Lanka, the UK and the US are to participate virtually, the ministry said.
The visit comes as Taiwan enhances exchanges with the EU and ties with the bloc’s member states, Lithuania in particular.
Earlier this month, Taiwan inaugurated its representative office in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, as part of a reciprocal deal the two nations reached in August, which would also see Lithuania open a representative office in Taipei early next year.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS