A US senator who sponsored the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act yesterday said that he planned to learn more about Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and promote closer links between the countries during his three-day trip to Taiwan.
US Senator Todd Young said during his meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that his visit from Monday to today had several purposes, including to show the US Congress’ bipartisan support for Taiwan.
Young said that as one of the sponsors of the CHIPS act, which US President Joe Biden signed into law last year to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors and counter China, he wanted to learn more about Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
Photo: CNA
“I am here to learn how to continue do that [chip cooperation], sell more chips, and hire more people and [promote] more linkages between the US and Taiwan and other countries moving forward. That will benefit all of us,” he said.
Todd also said that his home state of Indiana had maintained a close friendship with Taiwan for decades. Its capital, Indianapolis, established a sister-city relationship with Taipei in 1978 before the state formed a “sisterhood” with Taiwan in 1979.
Indiana was the first US state to forge a sister relationship with Taiwan.
Recently, Indiana and Taiwan have signed agreements to promote academic research in semiconductors, he added.
The Republican senator said that while Americans have different views on a lot of issues, there was bipartisan support for Taiwan.
“Make no mistake, there is something Republicans and Democrats alike are unified on and will be unified. That is the importance of supporting the US-Taiwan relationship and holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable,” he said, without clarifying his remark about China.
Tsai welcomed the visit by Young, who is the first US senator to travel to the country in the new US congressional session.
She praised him for being one of Taiwan’s strongest supporters in the US Congress by backing Taiwan’s international participation and being a key architect of the CHIPS act.
“Facing authoritarian expansion and post-COVID-19-pandemic economic challenges, like-minded partners need to build a sustainable supply chain for democracy chips. This will help Taiwanese, the US and global economies continue to prosper and develop,” she said.
Tsai also called on Young to advocate for the possible signing of a Taiwan-US agreement on double taxation to create more opportunities for companies from both sides to engage in exchanges.
Young arrived late on Monday as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region.
During his stay, he was to meet with senior leaders and private-sector representatives to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains and other significant issues of mutual interest, the American Institute in Taiwan said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS