Four US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan yesterday to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The lawmakers arrived in two groups and are to stay in Taiwan for three days.
One of the groups is led by US Representative Brad Wenstrup, a Republican, who is accompanied by three of his aides, the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
Wenstrup is a member of the Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The other group is led by US Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat. He is accompanied by US representatives Michael Waltz, a Republican, and Kai Kahele, a Democrat, as well as their three aides, the ministry said.
Department of North American Affairs Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) welcomed the delegations at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon their arrival.
The visiting lawmakers are also to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to discuss Taiwan-US relations, regional peace and security, and trade, the ministry said.
All four US lawmakers have supported Taiwan in the US Congress by initiating bills and by writing joint letters to support Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan