The opening of a trade office and the signing of a cooperation pact would make the Taiwan-Virginia partnership stronger, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said yesterday as he concluded a two-day visit to Taiwan.
Youngkin on Monday announced that he had approved the establishment of a Virginia trade office in Taiwan and yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on economic and trade cooperation with the nation.
Speaking at a press event after the signing, Youngkin said the moves “will build on an already strong relationship.”
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“And I have very high aspirations that Virginia and Taiwan will have a great future, both economically and in partnership going forward,” he said.
Asked about his first international trade mission since taking office as governor in January — two days in Taiwan before visits to Japan and South Korea — Youngkin said it “could not begin in a more appropriate place.”
He said the aim of traveling to the three Asian destinations was to bolster cooperation with “trusted partners” in supply chains in key industries, such as semiconductors, pharmaceutical manufacturing, automotive supplies, and electric vehicle batteries and storage.
“These are critical supply chains for our collective future, and ones that I believe we must continue to forge with trusted partners. That’s why I’m here,” he said.
Youngkin signed the MOU with Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) at a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Taipei that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) also attended.
Tien said that Virginia is Taiwan’s 10th-largest source of imports and ninth-largest export market among the US’ 50 states.
The MOU would help to foster even more opportunities for both sides, he said.
Chen praised Virginia as a home to engineering talent with a strong workforce and sound education system.
The MOU would be the starting point to further reinforce cooperation of the fields of economic and trade, and open a new chapter in Taiwan-Virginia relations, he said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
RSS