Nauruan President Russ Joseph Kun and a 43-member delegation of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council are to attend the main Double Ten National Day celebration in Taipei next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Kun and his wife are to lead a 17-member delegation to Taiwan from Sunday to Thursday next week at the government’s invitation “to demonstrate the importance of its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and its strong support for the nation,” the ministry said.
In addition to participating in the celebration, Kun is to give an opening speech at the Yushan Forum on Wednesday and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), it said.
Photo: CNA
Japanese Representative Keiji Furuya, chair of the council, is to head the Japanese delegation to Taiwan from tomorrow to Tuesday, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Fan Chen-kuo (范振國) said.
The Japanese delegation was initially opened for 30 council members, but was increased to 43 due to the great enthusiasm from Japanese parliamentarians, he said.
During the Double Ten National Day celebration, the delegation is to march with Taiwanese legislators and members of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association to display the friendship between the two sides, he said.
The delegation is also to meet with Tsai, Wu, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) and Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), he said.
In related news, US Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, shouted “I love Taiwan” and reaffirmed the US’ support for Taiwan at the Double Ten National Day party held by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington.
McCaul, American Institute in Taiwan Chair Laura Rosenberger, the ambassadors to the US from Guatemala, Paraguay, Palau, Belize and Eswatini attended the party at Twin Oaks Estate in Washington on Wednesday, the office said in a press release yesterday.
Renowned Taiwanese beer and liquor was served at the party, including wine from Taichung’s Shu Sheng Leisure Domaine (樹生酒莊) and Weightstone (威石東酒莊), liquor from Hcwine (恆器製酒), sake from the Wu-Feng Farmers’ Association (霧峰鄉農會), whiskey from Kavalan (噶瑪蘭) and Taiwan Beer, it said.
Addressing the party, McCaul repeatedly shouted “I love Taiwan” in Mandarin and English, adding that as the committee chairman, he would ensure that Taiwan has the weapons and training it needs to counter China’s increasingly provocative military threats.
Asked whether the ousting of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the US House of Representatives would affect US’ support for Taiwan, McCaul responded with a firm “no.”
Rosenberger said that the US-Taiwan partnership has grown closer than ever during the past year.
She added that she looked forward to welcoming Taiwan’s APEC delegation in San Francisco next month, when Taiwan would be able to showcase its long-term economic contributions.
The world can learn a lot from Taiwan — a beacon of democracy — in fields such as technological development, women’s economic empowerment and disease prevention, she said.
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) thanked Washington for its increased, cross-party support for Taiwan.
Other politicians, including close to 100 members of the US Congress, and the governors of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware, expressed their good wishes through congratulatory letters and statements, the office said.
Separately, any unilateral change to the cross-strait “status quo” is unacceptable, Finnish Parliamentary Friendship Group first vice chair Atte Harjanne said at the Double Ten National Day party held by the Taipei Representative Office in Finland on Tuesday.
As a highly developed and capable nation that can make a lot of contributions to the world, Taiwan should be allowed to have its own voice and contribute professional knowledge in international organizations, Harjanne said.
As with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, unsolicited shows of force, provocations and reckless live-fire exercises across the Taiwan Strait are also unacceptable, he said.
Any cross-strait conflict would have disastrous consequences for the world economy, he said, adding that freedom and democracy must be defended.
Additional reporting by CNA
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