President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in Taipei yesterday thanked the Taiwanese community in Japan for deepening Taiwan-Japan ties and encouraged investment in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese community in Japan has always been united and contributed greatly to friendly ties between Taiwan and Japan through civil diplomacy, Tsai told a meeting with a delegation of an association formed from Taiwanese communities in Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Shikoku and Hiroshima.
The association collected disease prevention supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic to give to the Japanese government, healthcare institutions and schools, exemplifying the kindness of Taiwanese, she said.
Photo: CNA
After China announced a ban on pineapple imports from Taiwan, the association purchased nearly 10 tonnes of the fruit from Taiwan and gave them to Japanese politicians and social welfare organizations to promote the nation’s high-quality agricultural products, she said.
Tsai thanked the association for caring for Taiwan, adding that its efforts have deepened the friendship between the two nations.
The joint effort of Taiwan’s government and society has meant the economy has developed steadily since the pandemic, earning the nation the No. 1 spot on Nikkei Asia’s COVID-19 Recovery Index, which the magazine published last year, she said.
The Washington-based Heritage Foundation last month ranked Taiwan fourth in the world on its Index of Economic Freedom, the nation’s best performance yet on the list, the president said.
Tsai encouraged members of the association to join the “Three Major Programs for Investing in Taiwan” that the government launched in 2019, including its “Action Plan for Welcoming Overseas Taiwanese Businesses to Return to Invest in Taiwan.”
The programs, which have been extended to next year, have so far facilitated more than NT$2 trillion (US$65.82 billion) in investments and created more than 140,000 job opportunities, she said.
She urged members of the association to continue to exert their influence in Japan and “be the backup force of the government” to win more international support for Taiwan.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there