A delegation led by former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen arrived in Taipei yesterday afternoon for discussions with top-level officials on regional peace and security, among other topics.
The delegation, which includes four other former US defense and security officials and their staffers, departed for Taiwan on a US government aircraft on Monday and arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 4:13pm yesterday.
On arrival, they were greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) at a news conference in Taipei earlier yesterday said that the government warmly welcomed the two-day visit by the delegation, which was sent by US President Joe Biden in reflection of his nation’s rock-solid commitment to Taiwan amid the unfolding Ukraine crisis.
Led by Mullen, the delegation also includes Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser under former US president George W. Bush, and Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense in former US president Barack Obama’s administration.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) today to discuss regional peace and stability, Taiwan-US relations and various areas of bilateral cooperation, the government said.
The former US officials would also meet with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and other top-level officials during their two-day visit, it said.
The visit by the delegation underlines “the importance of Taiwan-US relations,” “Taiwan’s important status,” and “the US’ emphasis on regional peace and its firm support for Taiwan,” Su told reporters yesterday morning ahead of a meeting at the legislature in Taipei.
A senior official in the Biden administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the trip is intended to “demonstrate our continued robust support for Taiwan,” Reuters reported.
However, the official declined to say whether the timing of the visit was influenced by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Reuters said.
Meanwhile, a Taiwanese national security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday told the Central News Agency that Biden’s selection of former senior defense and security officials was meant to offer “reassurance” of the US’ commitment to peace and security in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
Furthermore, the visit, which comes less than a year after Biden sent a delegation to Taiwan led by US Senator Christopher Dodd, suggests that Washington might be seeking a new approach for fast and effective official contacts with Taipei, on top of the existing communication mechanisms, the Taiwanese official said.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, said that the discussions between the delegation and Taiwanese officials were likely to cover “new topics” rather than just regular or existing projects.
The delegation might offer advice on Taiwan’s national defense policy, building up the military and overall security improvements during the visit, which is meant to demonstrate the US’ desire to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, Chieh said.
Speaking at an online event organized by US think tank the German Marshall Fund on US-Europe cooperation in Asia, US National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell on Monday said that the US government would show its determination in the coming months to sustain high-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS