Presidential Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has expressed the hope that Taiwan and Japan could cooperate more closely in a conversation with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker and former Japanese minister of internal affairs and communications Sanae Takaichi, who is vying to become her nation’s first female prime minister.
In a videoconference on Monday, Tsai said mutual assistance between Taiwan and Japan is critical to regional stability, and she hoped for closer bilateral cooperation in several areas, including regional security, economic development and global supply chains.
Takaichi has declared her candidacy in the ruling LDP’s election for party president on Wednesday next week that would likely determine the nation’s next prime minister.
Photo copied by Lin Tsui-yi, Taipei Times
Takaichi has been described by the Japan Times as “a favorite of conservatives, with hawkish views on defense and diplomacy.”
Tsai also thanked Takaichi for Japan’s donations of COVID-19 vaccines, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) statement about the 30-minute conversation said.
Takaichi wrote on Twitter that she had a virtual dialogue with “Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen” on Monday evening, which proceeded smoothly with the help of translators.
Tsai is the DPP chairperson.
The Japanese lawmaker said that she was eager to hold the meeting to discuss how to deepen security ties and expand pragmatic exchanges between Japan and Taiwan.
Takaichi on Twitter posted a picture of the Japanese and Taiwanese national flags hanging on the wall of the venue where she held the online meeting with Tsai.
She said she expected the entire conversation to be posted on YouTube.
Japan donated more than 3.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan between June 4 and Sept. 7, and pledged to donate an additional 500,000 doses on Tuesday last week.
It has donated more vaccine doses to Taiwan than any other nation.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS