Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) is planning to visit the US early next year, KMT Department of International Affairs head Alexander Huang (黃介正) said yesterday.
Huang at a news conference in Taipei said that Chu plans to embark on a US tour that would likely take place after the Jan. 29 to Feb. 6 Lunar New Year holiday and include stops in Washington, and other cities on the east and west coasts.
Chu is planning to meet with US government officials and lawmakers, as well as think tank representatives to communicate the KMT’s position on various issues, Huang said, without elaborating.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Chu is also not ruling out the possibility of visiting Japan, Huang said, adding that the party values its relationship with Japan, and is keen to interact with Japanese lawmakers.
The KMT’s deputy chairs and other leading members of the party also have plans to visit the US as part of efforts to expand the party’s cooperation in areas such as technology, economic issues and national security.
It had been reported that Chu could visit Washington and take part in a planned reopening of the KMT liaison office in the US.
Although Huang did not confirm those reports, he said that the liaison office would begin operations after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The KMT closed its US office shortly after former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in 2008.
Since then the KMT has not had a representative to the US until Chu assumed the role of the KMT chairman in October.
Chu on Nov. 30 sent KMT Department of International Affairs deputy director Eric Huang (黃裕鈞) to the US to reopen the liaison office.
Speaking via videoconference at the news conference, Eric Huang said the preparation work is “on schedule” thanks to the support from the US government, as well as US-based KMT members and supporters.
There has been a lot of discussion about Taiwan among US government officials, lawmakers and academics, and they are interested in learning about the views of the main opposition party, he said.
EVA Airways was ranked the eighth-best airline in the world for this year, the only Taiwanese carrier to make it into the top 25 Airline Excellence Awards this year, aviation reviews Web site AirlineRatings.com said on Wednesday. AirlineRatings.com has a seven-star rating system to evaluate more than 360 airlines around the world every year, EVA Airways said in a statement on Thursday. “We are delighted that efforts by the entire EVA staff have been recognized by Airline Ratings,” EVA Airways president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in the release. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company identified and adopted services and procedures that enhance and
Tropical storm Guchol is moving in a northeasterly direction off the east coast of the Philippines and will not hit Taiwan, but will impact local weather starting on Friday, the Central Weather Bureau said Thursday. The storm would bring a low-pressure system northward toward the vicinity of Taiwan, forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. Northern Taiwan will see intermittent rain showers in the morning, and thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday, he said, adding that rain would be heavier on the east coast and in the central-southern mountainous areas. Rainfall would continue into Saturday, and would spread throughout Taiwan proper, he
Exiled Chinese democracy advocate Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday denied an accusation by former Taiwanese political worker Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) that Wang had sexually harassed him in a hotel room in New York nine years ago. There was a huge gap between Lee’s accusation and his own understanding and memory, Wang wrote on Facebook, adding it was hard for him to respond further regarding a “unilateral description” made by someone else. Wang made the remarks after his initial response on Facebook was met with criticism, with people saying he did not directly address the allegation. Lee on Friday wrote on Facebook that he
#METOO MOVEMENT: A woman who formerly worked at the TPP said that she was repeatedly harassed by a party deputy secretary last year and it was covered up Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced new party procedures for filing complaints and investigating reports of sexual misconduct in response to more accusations of negligence against the party in handling reports of sexual abuse. In what local media dubbed Taiwan’s #MeToo movement, more people went public yesterday with allegations about the DPP, other parties and local governments. Lai said he deeply regrets the situation and apologized to the victims, while also praising them for having the courage to come forward. “When facing bullying and violations in the workplace, it is most important to stand up to
RSS