Several government agencies are discussing a plan to enhance ties with Europe in several fields and would unveil it soon, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.
Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) did not name any of the agencies other than the MOFA.
The plan aims to further enhance already robust economic, education, scientific research and supply chain ties between Taiwan and Europe, he said.
Photo: CNA
Chen was addressing President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) pledge to “soon put forward a plan to strengthen our ties with Europe, and promote deeper exchanges between Taiwan and European countries” in her New Year’s Day address on Saturday.
No details of the plan were provided by Tsai, and Chen, who offered few other details of his own, would only say that more information would be provided by the agencies involved.
However, an unnamed official from the National Development Council told the Central News Agency on Saturday that the project is being handled by the council, the MOFA, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Education.
The council proposed it to the president to serve as a long-term, all-inclusive plan to enhance Taiwan’s ties with Europe, made more urgent by the reshaping of supply chains because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The program’s main function would be to coordinate research from different government agencies to conduct “systematic and comprehensive exchanges” on economic, trade and diplomatic fronts with businesses and people in Europe, the official said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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