The Legislative Yuan’s Friendship Association With the Baltic States yesterday urged the government to adopt policies to deepen relations with central and eastern Europe.
Association members Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉), Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to step up collaboration with the legislature to bolster Taiwan’s diplomatic outreach efforts to central and eastern European countries.
By establishing connections with small, democratic countries in the EU that share similar views and values with Taiwan, it would be possible to find a way out of the nation’s diplomatic quandary, the association said at a news conference.
Photo: Lu Yi-hui, Taipei Times
Chiu suggested the establishment of a “travel bubble” program with countries in central and eastern Europe, similar to the one with Palau, adding that travel bubbles, which allow people to move freely without undergoing quarantine, would facilitate bilateral relations.
The association has plans to invite Lithuanian Parliamentary Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to Taiwan, he said.
The ministry should consider including eastern European languages in its exams, as fluency in Baltic languages would increase the efficiency of promoting bilateral relations, he added.
Chiu called for the ministry to adjust its funding for the region and to expand the list of countries eligible to apply for the Taiwan-Europe Connectivity Scholarship program.
The ministry should consider emulating Japan and issuing an annual diplomatic blue book to inform the public on its diplomatic strategies and its take on international affairs, which would allow the public to act in a way that would improve Taiwan’s reputation, he said.
The government should negotiate starting direct flight services with the Czech Republic, especially Prague, Hsu said, adding that other direct-flight destinations in eastern and central Europe should also be considered to tighten economic and tourism ties with the region.
The ministry should also initiate a review on how to best utilize its offices in the Visegrad Group to interact with more European countries, he said.
Chang Liao suggested stepping up interaction between the legislatures of Taiwan and the Baltic states.
The countries in central and eastern Europe have experienced similar oppression that Taiwan has undergone, and they also strive to achieve democracy and liberty, he said.
They have spoken highly of Taiwan’s information and electronics industries, and are interested in attracting Taiwanese businesses to invest in the region, which would improve Taiwanese-European interaction in technology, education and industry development, he added.
Thanking the Czech, Lithuanian and Slovakian governments for their donations of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General of European Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國), who represented the ministry at the news conference, said he would relay the association’s suggestions to the ministry and would discuss them in-depth.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hui
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
RSS