Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called on the US Congress to support a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region during a meeting with a delegation of US academics.
Lai welcomed the delegation led by former US Senate majority leader Thomas Daschle, chairman of Washington-based think tank the Center for American Progress, at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Lai thanked members of the delegation for their longstanding support for Taiwan, citing former US representative David Price’s work in the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus as an example.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan, occupying a core position within the first island chain and being on the front line of China’s military threats, is an important security and economic partner of the US in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
He called for continued support for Taiwan from the center and the US to jointly ensure security and prosperity in the region.
The center’s focuses — strengthening public health, creating a good economic environment, addressing climate change and environmental justice, promoting ethnic equality and justice, and rebuilding trust in a democratic society — align with the direction of Taiwan’s national development, Lai said.
The president-elect said that he is looking forward to cooperating with the center after taking office in May to advance those goals and contribute to the international community.
Daschle congratulated Lai on winning the presidential election, adding that Taiwan admirably proved itself to be a vigorous democracy in the presidential and legislative elections in January.
With its dedication in the past 50 years, Taiwan has set a standard for all people who aspire to develop a mature democracy, and improve human rights and public health, which is commendable and worth learning from, he said.
Members of the delegation all look forward to continuing to cooperate closely with Taiwan on the economy and foreign affairs, he added.
Meanwhile, Czech Governmental Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Tomas Kopecny is to visit Taiwan next week to discuss joint efforts in aiding Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Kopecny is to visit Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, following his previous trip in November last year, to advance cooperation between Taiwan and the Czech Republic on helping Ukraine, Department of European Affairs Director-General Eric Huang (黃鈞耀) told a news conference.
During his previous visit, Kopecny witnessed the signing of an agreement to work together to help reconstruction work in Ukraine.
The envoy is to hold in-depth discussions on rebuilding water purification facilities, and combined heat and power systems in Ukraine, Huang said.
Kopecny is also to meet with the Ukrainian community in Taiwan to learn about the expectations of overseas Ukrainians on national reconstruction, he said.
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