A bipartisan US congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a two-day visit that is to include meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The delegation comprises Republican US representatives and Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ken Calvert, Tom Cole, Dave Joyce and Mike Garcia, as well as Democratic US Representative Ed Case, the ministry said in a news release.
Upon their arrival at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the five representatives were welcomed by North American Affairs Department Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典), it said.
Photo courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
During their visit, they are to meet with Tsai, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to discuss bolstering bilateral security cooperation, and economic and trade ties, it said.
The American Institute in Taiwan said the representatives are in Taiwan as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
In related news, former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday said that the only one who would “destroy” Taiwan is China.
O’Brien, who served in the administration of former US president Donald Trump from 2019 to 2021, made the comments in an interview with the Central News Agency when asked about a comment he made recently to the Soufan Center, a New York-based think tank.
News reports quoted him as saying that the US would destroy Taiwan’s semiconductor fabs if China were to invade the nation.
“The United States and its allies are never going to let those factories fall into Chinese hands,” the reports quoted him as saying.
On Tuesday O’Brian clarified his statement, saying that “anyone who says that the US is somehow going to destroy Taiwan or attack Taiwan — that’s propaganda and misinformation from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP].”
It would be difficult for China to take the nation without destroying its infrastructure and Taiwan’s talent would not be willing to work for the CCP, he said, adding that the US — like Taiwan — would work to prevent an invasion in the first place.
Asked about the speculated invasion date of 2027, O’Brien said it might be possible, as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would like to achieve unification with Taiwan within his lifetime.
Within one to three years, Xi could try to coerce Taiwan into a unification “that the people of Taiwan just don’t want,” he said.
“One of the great stories of my lifetime is Taiwan,” he said, highlighting its thriving democracy, rule of law and innovative people.
O’Brien complimented the administration of US President Joe Biden for continuing the Trump administration’s efforts to protect Taiwan, which he said was his top priority while in office.
To protect its democracy, Taiwan must become so bloated it would spoil China’s appetite, he said.
He approved of Taiwan’s extension of mandatory military service to one year and acquisition of weapons systems that would make an invasion difficult, saying that the moves send a strong message that Taiwan is willing to fight.
The US should prioritize military assistance to Taiwan as it has done for Ukraine, he said, urging the Biden administration to deliver arms purchased by Taiwan as soon as possible.
O’Brien also recommended that Taiwan and the US bolster trade ties, including by signing a free-trade agreement that would allow more Taiwanese and US firms to invest and manufacture in each others’ countries.
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
RSS