The Taiwan-Europe Interparliamentary Amity Association was inaugurated yesterday, with legislators praising strides made toward closer relations and an invitation for the association chair to visit the European Parliament once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Dozens of officials and lawmakers attended the event online and in person at the legislature in Taipei.
In an address, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), who since 2016 has served as chairman of the Taiwan-Europe Parliamentary Friendship Association and in 2019 led a delegation to Europe, celebrated the “leaps and bounds” Taiwan-Europe relations have taken and their promising trajectory.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Although many events have been canceled over the past two years due to the pandemic, Taiwan and Europe have still supported each other through donations of masks and vaccines, Tsai said.
The G7 in June last year declared the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait, followed by a European Parliament resolution in October calling for closer political relations and cooperation, and the first formal visit to Taiwan by European lawmakers in November, he said.
Taiwan and Europe share the common values of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law, Tsai said, expressing the hope that relations would continue to be enhanced across more areas.
European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group chairman Michael Gahler in a prerecorded address offered his congratulations and extended an invitation to Tsai to visit the European Parliament when the pandemic eases or to meet in Taiwan.
Group vice chairman Andrey Kovatchev touted the past year’s achievements as a solid foundation for further development, while vowing to keep pushing for a bilateral investment agreement.
Group vice chairman Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said that Taiwan has many friends in Europe who support the nation’s meaningful international participation, and respect its liberal and democratic values.
Group members would therefore continue to call on the EU, Japan, India, New Zealand, Australia and others to stand together in opposition against Chinese aggression toward Taiwan, he said.
At the legislature, European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Filip Grzegorzewski attested to Taiwan’s importance as a trusted partner in the Indo-Pacific region with shared values and goals.
Taiwan and Europe enjoy friendly relations with cooperation in a variety of areas, including human rights, trade, digital innovation, renewable energy, labor and disaster preparedness, Grzegorzewski said.
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
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
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
RSS