Deputy US Assistant Secretary of State Scott Busby is on Thursday to deliver a speech to open a two-day workshop hosted by Taiwan and the US on defending democracy, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced yesterday.
Busby, who is responsible for the Asia-Pacific region at the department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, is to join AIT Director Brent Christensen, Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who have been invited to attend as special guests, an AIT media advisory said.
Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) is to deliver the keynote address at the event, the AIT added.
The workshop is to be held under the Taiwan-US Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), said the AIT, which represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Established in June 2015, the GCTF program aims to support bilateral cooperation on international public health, humanitarian assistance and other global issues.
The workshop is to include participants from 12 countries spanning two continents, who are to share lessons and best practices to deepen international cooperation on the promotion of media literacy, the AIT said, adding that it would be the 13th workshop since the framework’s inception in 2015.
Busby has served in his post since December 2013, overseeing the bureau’s work on Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, multilateral and global affairs, including US engagement on human rights at the UN, disability rights, LGBTI rights, Internet freedom, business and human rights, and international labor affairs, the US Department of State Web site says.
Busby served as director for human rights on the White House National Security Council from 2009 to 2011, focusing on human rights and refugee issues, it says.
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
RSS