President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday continued to receive foreign dignitaries who traveled to Taiwan to participate in Monday’s inauguration ceremony, and congratulated Lai and expressed hopes to continue working with the nation.
In a meeting with former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite, Lai said global situations and geopolitical strategies are changing rapidly and he hopes that both countries would step up collaborative efforts as they face significant challenges.
Taiwan and Lithuania are small countries trying to survive with strong and unfriendly neighbors, Grybauskaite said, adding that there is much the two nations could learn from each other.
Photo: CNA
In a meeting with Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, Lai said he is looking forward to working with Heine to create regional peace and prosperity.
Heine said Marshallese are firmly committed to their pledge to be Taiwan’s most stalwart ally and would continue to advocate for the nation on the global stage.
In a meeting with Somaliland House of Elders First Deputy Speaker Said Jama Ali, Lai mentioned “Project Africa” and said he hopes that his administration would continue working with Somaliland.
We hope to broaden the areas we collaborate and thrive together, he said.
Ali congratulated Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on their inauguration and said that Taiwan-Somaliland relations have continued to grow over the past few years, underscoring the friendship the two countries share.
Separately, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington held a celebratory event to mark the inauguration at the Twin Oaks estate, which US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul attended.
McCaul congratulated the Democratic Progressive Party on its historic third consecutive win and said Taiwan-US relations have never been closer than this year, which coincidentally was the 45th year of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act.
McCaul said he had been reviewing the Chinese Communist Party’s military facilities near Taiwan before the event and said that China is trying to change the “status quo.”
McCaul quoted former US general Douglas MacArthur in defining Taiwan as “the unsinkable carrier” and said the general’s description was more prescient than he might have realized.
McCaul also announced that he would visit Taiwan again at the end of this month and address the situation of delayed US arms deliveries.
Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大?) said Lai had clearly stated Taiwan’s act of goodwill in terms of tourism and Chinese students, and called on Beijing to realize that it is speaking with a democratically elected president.
Beijing should not mistake cross-strait relations for cross-party relations and confine itself to dealing with one political party, Yui said.
Yui declined to comment on whether he would continue as a representative, saying: “If the president wants me on the job, I will stay on the job.”
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
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
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
RSS