Vice President William Lai (賴清德) discussed security and economic issues, as well as China, with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a virtual meeting on Friday, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said.
The meeting lasted about 30 minutes and touched on security issues, economic affairs and shared values, Hsiao told reporters after the meeting.
Pelosi expressed concern over the status and security of the Taiwan Strait, as well as human rights in China, ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics that begins on Friday, Hsiao said.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA
The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games, citing “genocide and crimes against humanity” in China’s Xinjiang region, which Beijing dismissed as a “self-directed political farce.”
US athletes would still attend the Games, but they would not be joined by US government officials.
Pelosi also voiced her support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHO’s activities and mechanisms, saying that she had previously conveyed her views directly to the WHO’s director-general over the matter, Hsiao said.
Photo: CNA
Pelosi recognized Taiwan’s efforts to fight COVID-19 and said the nation should not be excluded from the WHO, Hsiao said, adding that the conversation between Lai and Pelosi was “relaxed” and “amicable.”
The meeting was held shortly after Lai arrived in San Francisco for a stopover on his return trip from Honduras.
Lai later wrote on Twitter that he was pleased to meet with Pelosi, who he described as “a champion of human rights and true friend to Taiwan.”
Photo: CNA
“We are committed to working together to strengthen the US-Taiwan partnership,” Lai added.
In San Francisco, Lai was again welcomed by American Institute in Taiwan Chairman James Moriarty, before heading to the Hyatt Regency hotel, where dozens of Taiwanese expatriates greeted him.
Speaking about his trip to Honduras, Lai told a virtual meeting with representatives of the Taiwanese community that he had received a warm welcome in the Central American nation.
During his 43-hour stay in Honduras, Lai attended the inauguration ceremony of Honduran President Xiomara Castro, during which he had a brief conversation with US Vice President Kamala Harris.
He also held talks with Castro and other Honduran officials, as well as Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno.
Lai said that senior Honduran government officials, including Castro, have expressed their appreciation of the country’s ties with Taiwan and said they looked forward to improving bilateral cooperation.
The 62-year-old Honduran president had said during her presidential campaign that she would switch recognition to China if she won, although her transition team later said the new government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
At a news conference in Tegucigalpa, Lai said the issue regarding Honduras’ ties with Taiwan had been “satisfactorily resolved.”
Lai said that Taiwan would make every effort to maintain its relations with its Central American ally and seek to work with like-minded countries, such as the US, to help improve the lives of Hondurans.
During the virtual talks with the Taiwanese community, Lai also thanked the US government for its support of Taiwan.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS