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
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS