Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
Since that time, he said, the ministry has had no business relations with the company.
Huang made the remarks while fielding questions from legislators at the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee meeting.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) cited a story published in the Chinese-language China Times two weeks ago which said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had revealed to prosecutors that he had paid for Presidential Office contracts with Cassidy & Associates using money from the special state affairs fund.
Lee asked Huang if he knew about the matter and, if so, who had paid the lobbying firm.
Huang did not answer Lee's question directly, saying only that the ministry signed contracts with 14 US public relation companies and all the expenses were allocated through the official budget, and came to about NT$100 million (about US$2.9 million).
"According to the US lobbying laws, PR firms have to display information on clients on their Web sites. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has transparent relations with US PR firms," Huang said.
Since the ministry has paid for these PR expenses, Lee asked why the Presidential Office had to pay Cassidy & Associates' fees out of the Presidential Office expense fund.
In response, Huang said the ministry did not hire Cassidy & Associates and has never dealt with that PR firm.
He added that he could not make any comment on diplomatic affairs conducted through the Presidential Office.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS