The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is committed to engaging with many different groups in the US to foster stronger ties between the two sides, a KMT representative said at a defense industry forum in Virginia on Monday.
New KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) is ready to engage in dialogue with US authorities, Sam Houston State University associate professor Dennis Weng (翁履中) told the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference.
The party would establish a liaison office in Washington by the end of this year to “better communicate our policy agenda and positions with the US federal government, the [US] Congress, policy think tanks, and universities,” said a transcript of Weng’s speech provided by the event organizer, the US-Taiwan Business Council.
Photo courtesy of the KMT
The KMT has also established an International Affairs Working Group that would send delegations of party experts on Taiwan-US relations to the US on a regular basis after the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, Weng said.
With competition between the US and China intensifying and the Democratic Progressive Party government unable to ensure stable cross-strait relations, the KMT is committed to contributing to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, he said.
The party is considering “national security strategy guidelines” aimed at “preventing our adversary from making a decision to wage war against Taiwan,” and is ready to work with defense companies at home and abroad, Weng said.
“At the same time, we will also candidly speak up in the interests of Taiwan’s defense based on our assessment,” he said.
The 20th edition of the annual conference, held from Sunday to yesterday, includes discussions on defense cooperation between Taiwan and the US, and Taiwan’s defense and national security needs, the conference Web site says.
In Taipei, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱 國正) said that the ministry did not send delegates to this year’s forum because of COVID-19 concerns.
The ministry was represented at the event by ministry personnel posted in the US, he said, without elaborating.
He was likely referring to Major General Yu Chien-feng (余劍鋒), director general of the Defense Mission at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, who delivered a speech at the conference on behalf of Vice Minister of National Defense Wang Hsin-lung (王信龍).
In the speech, Yu said that Taipei hoped to improve its defense capabilities by working with the US in multiple areas, including by promoting mutual visits between Taiwan’s reserve forces and the US National Guard, conducting joint cybersecurity exercises and sharing intelligence.
Another key would be for US weapons providers to work with their Taiwanese partners to enhance Taiwan’s repair and maintenance capabilities, he said.
Such an arrangement would enable Taiwan to maintain its weapons systems more effectively, while offering benefits to US military assets deployed in the Asia-Pacific region, Yu said.
The conference last year took place as a virtual event due to COVID-19, and the Taiwanese delegation was led by then-deputy minister of national defense Chang Guan-chung (張冠群).
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS