The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) last night said that it had no comment about reports that a senior US Navy officer had arrived in Taipei for a visit.
Several media outlets reported that Rear Admiral Michael Studeman, director of intelligence of the US Indo-Pacific Command, arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) on a special charter flight at about 7pm.
The schedule of a “senior US official” in Taiwan would not be made public, the ministry said in a news release, without confirming the visit or the official’s identity.
Interactions and exchanges between Taiwan and the US are common, and visits by US officials are welcome, it said.
Earlier in the day, some news outlets reported that a charter flight was bringing CIA Director Gina Haspel to Taipei, but the ministry immediately rejected those reports, saying that they were not true.
The reported visit of Studeman a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the first US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue — which was held on Friday in Washington and virtually — as an event that would boost the economic relationship between the two countries.
“The United States and Taiwan are strong partners in defending freedom, advancing economic ties, and promoting our shared democratic values,” he wrote in a tweet.
“The American Institute in Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue strengthens our economic relationship even further,” Pompeo wrote.
During the dialogue, Taiwan and the US signed a five-year memorandum of understanding and established teams to tackle issues related to global health security, science and technology, infrastructure and energy, supply chain restructuring, investment screening and 5G.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
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