The passage of the draft “creating helpful incentives to produce semiconductors (CHIPS) and science act” in the US Congress last month was a recognition of the common interests between Taiwan and the US, and opens the door for better economic exchanges between the two countries, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters yesterday.
The 82-year-old Democrat, who is the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) on Tuesday night.
“At the same time that the trip is taking place, we have passed the CHIPS for America act in recognition of our common economic interests,” she told a news conference after a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Asked whether she can promise any concrete and tangible benefits that would offset the cost of her trip that Taiwanese are expected to pay in the coming weeks, Pelosi said: “This is something that opens the doors for us for better economic exchanges. Several Taiwanese companies are already planning to invest in chip manufacturing in the US. The entrepreneurial spirit, the intellectual resources and the success of the tech industry in Taiwan has really been a model... With the CHIPS act, we are facilitating to reach our shared goal of increasing our partnership.”
Pelosi said that “a trade agreement might be possible and could occur soon,” without giving any details.
Pelosi yesterday also visited the Legislative Yuan and held a closed-door meeting with Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and the legislative caucus whips of four political parties.
Photo: Ann Wang, REUTERS
Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun (游錫堃), who could not meet with Pelosi in person after testing positive for COVID-19, spoke with her via videoconference.
Taiwan has become a beacon of democracy for the Chinese-speaking parts of the world after three peaceful transitions of power over the past two decades, You wrote on Facebook.
He praised Pelosi for leading a delegation to Taiwan despite the intimidation from China, adding that this showed the world that Taiwan-US relations are rock solid, and that Taiwan would not be alone in defending democracy.
Taiwan’s People Party (TPP) caucus whip Andy Chiu (邱臣遠) said he told Pelosi that the two sides should quickly sign a trade agreement.
Taiwan and the US “need to tackle inflation, labor shortages and issues related to supply chains with concrete actions,” he said.
Pelosi and the caucus whips also exchanged views on the National Security Law Beijing imposed in Hong Kong and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he said.
New Power Party caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) told reporters that they discussed human rights issues.
Pelosi holds the view that human rights and security are two sides of the same coin, and must be considered together, Chiu Hsien-chih said.
Pelosi and the caucus whips also discussed the situations in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as the plight of human rights lawyers and non-governmental organization employees in China, he said.
They also talked about differences between Taiwan and China, such as the ability of Taiwanese human rights lawyers to not only participate in elections, but hold public office, Chiu Hsien-chih added.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number
RSS