Taiwan is a friend of the world recognized by international partners, Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio said during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.
Taiwan and Italy are friendly nations that respect each other and have very important cooperative relationships in economy, culture and politics, Centinaio said.
The Taiwanese government’s efforts both domestically and internationally are well recognized, which is exemplified by continuous visits of international delegations to Taiwan, he said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan is a friend of the whole world and a friend of Italy, which considers Taiwan a democracy with which Italy can engage on an equal footing, he added.
Echoing a G7 statement that underlined the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Centinaio said he hoped that the democratic camp can grow stronger around the world.
Tsai welcomed the delegation led by Centinaio, the first Italian parliamentary delegation to Taiwan since a new administration took office in Rome in October last year, and thanked the visitors for showing their support for Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
The Italian parliament passed three pro-Taiwan resolutions last year to underline the importance of cross-strait peace and stability, and support Taiwan’s international participation, she said.
Italy dispatched warships to help safeguard the Indo-Pacific region, while Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani repeatedly voiced support for the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, she added.
Tsai expressed the hope of deepening cooperation with Italy to jointly build a resilient democratic supply chain, as the two sides have different strengths in the semiconductor and high-tech industries.
She also invited Italians to visit Taiwan after flights between Milan and Taipei were launched last year.
Separately, Polish Foreign Affairs Committee Vice Chairwoman Barbara Bartus called for direct flights and cooperation in hydrogen power between Taiwan and Poland during a meeting with Tsai yesterday.
Direct flights would be beneficial to bilateral relations between Taiwan and Poland, a nation with great development potential, Bartus said.
The two sides could cooperate on the hydrogen industry as it is a field Taiwan hopes to develop, while Poland is the third-largest hydrogen energy producer in Europe, she said.
Poland hopes to attract investors from Taiwan and seek cooperation opportunities in research and development, technology transfers and talent cultivation, she added.
Many Taiwanese students are studying in Poland, especially in medicine, Bartus said.
However, these medical students are required to have their academic certificate approved by the Ministry of Education before they can participate in the examination to practice in Taiwan, she said, adding that she hopes the issue can be resolved.
Tsai thanked Poland for donating 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan and actively supporting Taiwan’s international participation.
For example, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki openly supported cross-strait peace and stability during a trip to the US in April, she said.
In the same month, 93 lawmakers in the Polish-Taiwanese Parliamentary Group issued a joint statement supporting Taiwan’s international participation, she added.
Taiwan would continue to cooperate with Poland and its neighboring nations to assist Ukraine in its recovery and reconstruction, Tsai said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS