The donation of automated mask production lines by a local company to the Czech Republic is good cooperation, regardless of the channel goes through, a Czech Senate official said yesterday.
“We perceive the donation as a great help and expression of good cooperation between the two democratic and free countries,” Petr Kostka, director of the Secretariat of the President of the Czech Senate, wrote in response to the Central News Agency’s (CNA) questions.
It does not matter whether the donation is done business to business or government to government, Kostka said, referring to five automated mask production lines that Autoland Technology, a Tainan machinery manufacturer, had pledged to the Czech Republic.
Photo: CNA
Two of the lines were scheduled to ship to the central European country yesterday, Autoland general manager Kuo Li-lin (郭立霖) told a news conference in Taipei.
The government has been at odds with Autoland over the donation, saying that it should have been done government to government, but the company is donating it directly to a Czech business, citing local regulations and the complexity of the government’s approach.
The donation was one outcome of a six-day visit to Taiwan by a delegation from the Czech Republic, despite warnings from Beijing.
To show its appreciation of the Czech Republic’s support of Taiwan, Autoland pledged to donate the production lines before Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil and his delegation wrapped up their visit in early September.
Asked about the donation going directly to a business, Kostka said that it was an “economic, effective and speedy solution,” quoting an earlier statement made by Vystrcil.
“Who else but private subjects can quickly find a mode of cooperation and start production processes? In other words, the donation is what is important,” Kostka said.
“It is the fulfillment of one of the goals of the Senate president’s visit to Taiwan, together with a business delegation. The aim was to start, deepen and broaden the cooperation. It is clear that the business-to-business model is a success from this point of view,” he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that it planned to donate a separate production line to the Czech Republic, government to government, and Kostka confirmed that the Czech Senate was notified of the donation by Taiwan’s representative office in Prague.
The ministry’s donation is from Taipei to Prague, but the Czech Senate is willing to provide assistance if needed, Kostka said.
Kuo said that two other production lines would be shipped to businesses, while a third would be sent to a school, allowing collaboration between industry and academia.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS