Taiwan is to host the World Movement for Democracy’s 11th Global Assembly in Taipei from Oct. 24 to 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
The announcement was made at a news conference by Damon Wilson, president and chief executive of the US National Endowment for Democracy, who led a delegation to Taiwan that arrived on Sunday.
It would be the first time the assembly, organized in partnership with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and other local civic groups, would be held in Taiwan, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Wilson yesterday met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃). He also attended a banquet hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Wilson said in a speech yesterday that the existence of the National Endowment for Democracy is a demonstration of its support for Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is testing the value of global democracy and the courage shown by the Ukrainians shows that democratic partners must be more united. Taiwan must also demonstrate its contribution to global democracy, he said.
Photo courtesy of MOFA
Wilson said that the purpose of holding the assembly in Taiwan is to fully demonstrate that it is a global democratic hub.
The conference would enable people from global democracies to witness Taiwan’s achievements and contributions, and allow Taiwan to have a core position in setting topics for democracies around the world to cooperate on.
It is Wilson’s first visit to Asia since he took office in July last year. That he chose to visit Taiwan demonstrates the importance he attaches to the nation, the ministry said.
Wilson and his delegation would be leaving Taiwan today, it said.
Established in 1999, the World Movement for Democracy is a global network of democrats who cooperate in the promotion of democracy.
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
CHINESE INCURSIONS, SORTIES: President William Lai thanked military officers for shouldering the responsibility of defending the survival and development of Taiwan President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that aggression would inevitably fail, pointing — on the day before a mass military parade in Beijing — to the lessons from World War II and key victories Taiwan claims against Chinese forces in 1958. Taiwan has over the past five years repeatedly complained about heightened Chinese military activity including war games around the nation as Beijing steps up pressure to enforce territorial claims that Taipei rejects. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, are to oversee a military parade in Beijing today to mark the