“I am Taiwanese; I am Czech, because we are both believers of democracy.” Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) yesterday gave a speech in the Czech Senate, a day after a delegation he is leading visited Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil’s hometown.
The delegation — which was invited to the central European nation by Vystrcil with hopes to bolster bilateral ties and obtain international support for Taiwan’s bid to regain UN membership — comprises Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Yosi Takun and Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲), Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Shih-chieh (黃世杰).
The delegation visited Vystrcil’s hometown of Telc and was warmly welcomed by Telc Mayor Vladimir Brtnik, Vyscoina Region head Vitezslav Schrek and other officials.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
You and his delegation members laid flowers and lit candles at a commemorative monument to Olga Havlova, whose support was instrumental in the involvement of Vaclav Havel, her husband, in the 1989 Velvet Revolution, a non-violent transition of power.
You praised Telc’s beauty, culture and architectural style, saying it lives up to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The delegation’s visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the town being named a UNESCO heritage site.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
You said the town reminded him of Yilan County, where Taiwan cypress trees grow at 2,000m above sea level.
Yilan had tried and failed to apply for UNESCO heritage status multiple times, as its application is blocked by an overbearing neighbor, he said, an apparent reference to China.
“I believe, one day, that [Taiwan] will become a UN member with the support of our international friends, and finally succeed in applying for UNESCO heritage status,” You said.
Photo: CNA
In his speech yesterday, You urged democratic countries around the world to “understand the core ideas of the Chinese Communist Party and to enact preventive measures against its spread, or it could, soon, bring about irreparable disaster for the human race.”
Chinese political views, hearkening back to an imperialist mindset, are precisely why it is dangerous, as regional hegemony threatens world peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, You said.
As a free, democratic country, Taiwan is different from China and stands against any form of authoritarianism, he said.
“One can say, for certain, that safeguarding Taiwan is in the public interest of the world,” You said.
“The alliance of democracies, must let authoritarian countries understand that we will not stand aside and let them fulfill their desires,” You said. “I believe fully in the Czech national motto: ‘Truth prevails,’ and that freedom and democracy will ultimately win.”
You echoed Vystrcil’s statement, “I am Taiwanese” in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei two years ago, saying: “I am Taiwanese; I am Czech, because we are both believers of democracy.”
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS