Retired army major general Ni Pang-chen (倪邦臣) and retired navy captain Cheng Kuo-feng (程國峰) are to depart for the US today to establish a mission for the Veterans Affairs Council (VAC) that would oversee veterans’ affairs exchanges between the two countries.
Ni has experience abroad, and is proficient in Spanish and English, the council said, adding that Cheng is also proficient in English, with a well-rounded military service in the navy.
Both have passed the American Institute in Taiwan’s interview as well as English proficiency tests, it added.
Photo: CNA
VAC Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) has said that the short-term goal of the mission would be to promote people-to-people diplomacy, while the mid-term goal would be to improve substantial exchanges between the veterans’ associations in Taiwan and the US.
The long-term goal would be to establish official communication with the US Department of Veterans Affairs, with the expectation that the mission would serve as a channel for track two diplomacy, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Nov. 26 announced that the council would establish a mission in the US.
‘COOPERATION’
“Veterans’ affairs is one area in which Taiwan and the US have enjoyed particularly close cooperation over the past few years,” she said at the time, adding that the official base in Washington would “help us better coordinate and expand their exchanges in health insurance, quality healthcare, employment assistance and long-term care for veterans.”
Lee Che-chuan (李哲全), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, has said that as the council has a relatively low profile, it could, through the mission, assist from the sidelines in reforming the nation’s reserve forces.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS