The US Department of State on Thursday said it appreciates Taiwan’s commitment to providing humanitarian assistance as part of the US-led coalition to counter the Islamic State (IS) group.
“We certainly appreciate those contributions as we appreciate the contributions of all coalition members,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at a news briefing when asked to comment on Taiwan’s attendance at the coalition meeting on Wednesday, and its pledge to continue providing humanitarian assistance in Iraq and Syria.
“I think an important thing to emphasize is that big or small, whatever role any coalition member can play and partner can play, we appreciate it,” Toner said. “I think what the message yesterday was we all need to see how we can do more to finish this.”
Representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰) and officials representing 67 other coalition members attended the meeting in Washington which was presided over by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the first such gathering since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
Kao was also invited to pose for a photograph with Tillerson and other officials. It is rare for a Taiwanese official to attend a public event in a US government building due to the two nations’ lack of official diplomatic ties.
At the news conference, Toner said Tillerson also noted the more than US$2 billion identified by coalition partners for humanitarian, stabilization and demining needs, and “called on all partners to rapidly fulfill their commitments.”
Members have pledged more than US$2 billion in assistance for Iraq and Syria this year, although the amount of Taiwan’s contribution is unknown.
The coalition, which was established in 2014 under the administration of then-US president Barack Obama, has 68 members. In addition to Taiwan, other partners from the Asia-Pacific region include Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.
Taiwan’s participation has consisted of humanitarian assistance, including the donation of 350 temporary housing units and US$100,000 in 2014 for refugees in Iraq displaced by the Islamic State.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Taiwan donated funds in January to help set up mobile hospitals in Iraq and would continue offering humanitarian assistance in the region, as well as help clear mines once fighting ceases.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS