Guatemalan President Oscar Berger Perdomo said on Tuesday that Taiwan-Guatemala ties must be mutually beneficial and that neither party should be disadvantaged.
Berger made the remarks at the presidential palace during a joint news conference with Vice President Annette Lu (
Asked whether Guatemala would take concrete action to support Taiwan's desire to take part in world bodies, including the UN, Berger replied that each country's sovereignty must be fully respected.
He stressed that Guatemala would step up two-way ties with Taiwan on a wide range of fronts as there still was a lot of room for mutual exploration.
After Taiwan and Guatemala signed a free trade agreement, two-way trade increased to US$150 million per year, a jump from the previous level of about US$2 million per year when he assumed the presidency, Berger said. He also expressed hope that more Taiwanese industries would invest in Guatemala.
Berger said that Taiwan would offer 25 scholarships for Guatemalan students to study in Taiwan and was also assisting in building an expressway in Guatemala.
Taiwan-Guatemala ties have to be built upon mutual benefits, with neither side a loser, Berger said.
Commenting on Berger's proposal of turning Quetzal Port into a free trade zone, Lu hailed the idea and said she would suggest that relevant Taiwanese authorities assess the feasibility of bilateral cooperation in the project.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
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