Taiwanese are determined to defend their homeland and its sovereignty, and are willing to invest more in regional peace with like-minded partners, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a delegation of US representatives yesterday.
US Representative Ken Calvert, who chairs the US House of Representatives Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is leading the delegation to Taiwan on a two-day visit.
The other members are fellow Republican US representatives Tom Cole, Dave Joyce and Mike Garcia, as well as Democratic US Representative Ed Case, all of whom are on the House Committee on Appropriations.
Photo provided by Taiwan Presidential Office
Calvert is on his second visit to Taiwan following a trip in 1995, while Cole visited the nation more than 40 years ago, and the others are on their first visit to Taiwan, Tsai said.
The representatives have significant influence on US government expenditures, including for defense resources, Tsai said, adding that their visit demonstrates the importance they attach to Taiwan’s security and Taiwan-US relations.
Highlighting her administration’s efforts to bolster defense resilience and restructure the military, Tsai reiterated the resolve of Taiwanese to defend themselves.
“We are willing and able to fortify cooperation with the US and like-minded partners,” she said. “Together, we can invest even more effort toward regional peace and stability, and democratic resilience across the globe.”
She also thanked the US Congress for its “unwavering bipartisan support,” in particular the Taiwan-friendly portions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.
On trade, Tsai mentioned the second round of Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-Century Trade negotiations in January, expressing hope that the two sides could reach an agreement on trade facilitation, labor rights and digital trade.
This agreement could hopefully become a basis for signing a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement, she added.
Calvert thanked Tsai for her welcome, saying that delegation members have seen many “positive changes” in Taiwan since their previous visits.
He also said they look forward to discussing regional security, trade and investment, among other areas of mutual interest.
The delegation is in Taiwan to build on decades of peace and prosperity in the region and strengthen ties between Taiwan and the US, he added.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS