Taiwan plans to boost military exchanges with the US to curb authoritarian expansionism, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday after meeting with visiting US lawmakers.
The five-day US congressional visit comes after a top US defense official reportedly made a stopover in Taiwan.
“Taiwan and the United States continue to bolster military exchanges,” Tsai said after meeting with the delegation at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “Going forward, Taiwan will cooperate even more actively with the United States and other democratic partners to confront such global challenges as authoritarian expansionism and climate change.”
Photo: AFP / Taiwan Presidential Office
Tsai did not provide further details on what the future exchanges might entail.
It is time “to explore even more opportunities for cooperation” between the US and Taiwan, Tsai said.
“Together we can continue to safeguard the values of democracy and freedom,” she added.
Taiwan and the US should “leverage their respective strengths and together build more resilient technology industrial chains,” Tsai said, adding that the two countries have collaborated on semiconductors, 5G communications and renewable energy sources under bilateral science and technology initiatives.
US Representative Ro Khanna, a member of the newly created US House of Representatives committee on strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party, said he was leading the bipartisan delegation’s visit to expand “the partnership on military and defense,” and to shore up ties with the nation’s world-leading semiconductor industry.
Established last month, the select committee is tasked with investigating issues related to US economic and security competition with China and making policy recommendations.
“We are here to affirm the shared values between the United States and Taiwan, a commitment to democracy, a commitment to freedom,” Khanna said yesterday.
He “particularly appreciated” a meeting on Monday with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀), Khanna said.
Also in the delegation, which arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a five-day visit, are US representatives Jake Auchincloss — a member of the select committee — Jonathan Jackson and Tony Gonzales.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day, opposes any official exchanges with the democracy and has reacted with anger to a flurry of trips to the island by US politicians in recent years.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) yesterday accused Taiwanese leaders of “provocation,” saying that “any futile separatist conspiracy or scheme relying on foreign forces to undermine cross-strait relations will only backfire and never succeed.”
Taiwanese authorities “cannot change the inevitable broader trend toward Chinese unification,” Wang told a regular news conference.
Additional reporting by CNA
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS