President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between Taiwan and the US would be mutually beneficial and help to strengthen their existing trade and business exchanges.
Tsai made the remarks when meeting with American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei chairman C.W. Chin (金奇偉) at the Presidential Office.
Tsai thanked the group for recommending that Washington expedite a trade agreement with Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
“I firmly believe that with a BTA, Taiwan and the United States would be able to capitalize on the complementarity of our industries,” she said. “Enhancing economic and trade exchanges between Taiwan and the United States would also create more business opportunities, benefiting both sides.”
The business opportunities generated by a trade deal would create a win-win scenario for Taiwan and the US, Tsai added.
Citing the signing of a memorandum of understanding on health cooperation between the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the US Department of Health and Human Services on Aug. 10, as well as the Taiwan External Trade Development Council’s Talent Circulation Alliance, she said that the Taiwan-US partnership has deepened.
Tsai said that the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei has emphasized policies to stimulate tourism and offered assistance in attracting foreign tourists, expressing the hope of continued cooperation in attracting tourists and business ventures alike to Taiwan.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the situation in Hong Kong have created an opportunity for Taiwan to become a center in Asia for international business investment and high-level asset management, she added.
Taiwan has growing allure for international investors, Tsai said, citing a report issued by US-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence, which ranked the nation as the third-best destination for investment in 2020, and the US Department of State’s Clean Network initiative, which granted Taiwan “trusted 5G” status.
The nation’s focus on the digital, information and communications technology, and biomedicine industries would turn Taiwan in a key player in the global economy and a trustworthy Asian ally of the US in the upcoming supply-chain shakeup, she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS