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.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from