President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday said that the “checkbook diplomacy” Taiwan was once criticized for has long been a thing of the past.
“Checkbook diplomacy, in its conventional definition, ended a long time ago, and no longer exists,” Tsai said when asked by reporters if she would make her stance clear to avoid being criticized.
Taiwan has become a very different nation, and many things need to meet regulatory requirements and be examined by the legislature, so it should no longer be an issue, the president said.
There might have been some diplomatic practices that faced criticism in the past, when the nation was in a difficult situation, she told reporters traveling with her on her first overseas trip since taking office.
Citing Paraguay as an example, Tsai said she announced only two new policies during her visit — one being the doubling to 28 of the number of students to be admitted to a scholarship program to study in Taiwan, the other being further raising import quotas for beef from the South American country.
“If I did not tell you about any other issues, that means there is nothing to tell,” she said.
The president also commented on responses to events during her visit to the country, where she attended the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, before traveling to Paraguay.
She said Panama had already informed her that the first ship to sail through the expanded canal is owned by Beijing-based China Ocean Shipping Co, and added that the Central American ally handled the matter in an honest and mature manner.
“[Panama] invited me and also invited the leader of mainland China. They [Panama] expressed their concern about relations across the Taiwan Strait, and expressed the hope that they can do something to help maintain peace and stability between the two sides,” she said.
She also said there is no need for a political interpretation of her signing “President of Taiwan (ROC)” [Republic of China] in a visitor’s book on Sunday during a tour of the expanded Panama Canal.
The choice of signature was blasted by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and several other KMT politicians, who said ROC should have come first, followed by Taiwan in the parentheses.
“I was elected by the 23 million people of this country, so it is not inappropriate to call myself president of Taiwan,” Tsai said, adding that on formal occasions, it is clear that the ROC will be listed before Taiwan.
Earlier that day, Tsai witnessed a donation by the Asus Foundation of 400 laptops and tablets to public elementary schools in Paraguay, before attending a banquet hosted by Asociacion Rural del Paraguay, where she was joined by Paraguayan Vice President Juan Eudes Afara Maciel.
She visited an animal feed factory, and attended the opening ceremony of an orchid sales center, both of which are part of a cooperation program between Taiwan and Paraguay.
The president was scheduled to wrap up her visit yesterday and fly to Los Angeles for a transit stop on her way home.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number
RSS