Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) yesterday paid a visit to Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo.
Speaking during the meeting, Motegi said Taiwan is an extremely important partner to Japan and a precious friend with shared values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, adding that the two countries have close economic relationships and regular personnel exchanges.
Motegi said while he was serving as Japan’s foreign minister in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic was bringing suffering to people all over the world, and that he is still grateful to Taiwan for its donation of 2 million masks and various medical resources to Japan at that time.
Photo: AFP
Japan also donated around 4.2 million doses of COVID- 19 vaccines to Taiwan, he said, adding that around the same time he also received a warm letter from Cheng expressing his hope that the Japanese people were managing to cope with the challenging situation.
Cheng expressed gratitude to Japan for its donation of the 4.2 million vaccine doses, pointing out that the figure accounts for about 20 percent of Taiwan’s population.
Cheng added that Taiwan and Japan have shared values and extremely close trade ties, and also face common geopolitical challenges.
Most importantly, the two countries have a shared vision, he said, saying that at the recently concluded G7 summit in Hiroshima, the world’s wealthiest democracies laid out a strategy of "de-risking, not de-coupling" from China.
"De-risking" refers to reducing reliance on China’s supply chains, without completely isolating it.
Yesterday afternoon, Cheng also visited contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s 3DIC R&D Center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Cheng is currently leading a delegation of economics officials on a visit to Tokyo from Monday till today to conduct exchanges in energy, net-zero emissions and fifth generation wireless cellular technology.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious