President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she is visiting the Kingdom of Eswatini to celebrate the diplomatic relationship between Taiwan and the African country, and promote sustainable cooperation.
“Eswatini has always taken a stand in staunch support of Taiwan, giving us confidence and strength to continue contributing to the world,” Tsai said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before leaving on a four-day trip to the African nation.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of Eswatini’s independence and the diplomatic ties between the two countries, as well as King Mswati’s 55th birthday.
Photo: Taiwan Presidential Office via AP
Eswatini has spoken up for Taiwan on many international occasions and King Mswati III has visited Taiwan 18 times since he took the throne in 1986, she said.
Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, exchanges between Taiwan and Eswatini have become more frequent, which have produced fruitful results in public health, medicine, women’s empowerment and agricultural technology, Tsai said.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who is part of Tsai’s delegation, is visiting Eswatini to sign an agreement formalizing sister city relations with Mbabane, the African nation’s capital.
Photo: AP
Tsai encouraged other local governments to likewise deepen partnerships with Eswatini.
“Diplomatic work is a cumulative, step-by-step process, and Taiwan will persevere in its international engagement, as we forge ahead with resolve and confidence, showing the world that Taiwan is a stable force for good,” she said.
Tsai added that she had instructed her administrative team to keep in touch with local governments to provide post-disaster assistance as Typhoon Haikui wreaked havoc on parts of the country over the past few days.
The government is to provide relief and compensation for agricultural losses, as well as activate the price stabilization mechanism for fruits and vegetables, she said.
Asked about Tsai’s visit, Alpheous Nxumalo, a spokesperson for the Eswatini government, told the Voice of America (VOA) that he did not “anticipate any friction” between Taiwan and China to arise from Tsai’s visit.
Throughout the 55 years of Eswatini being Taiwan’s diplomatic ally, “we have never had any issues and it is not for the first time by the way that the president of Taiwan visits the Kingdom of Eswatini,” he said.
“Eswatini’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan are by choice, based on national interests,” Percy Simelane, a spokesperson for Eswatini King Mswati III, told VOA, adding that Taiwan “has been a strong development partner.”
Taiwan is strategically important for Eswatini in terms of its assistance in education, health, infrastructure and agriculture, Sanele Sibiya, an economics lecturer at the University of Eswatini, told VOA.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS