The head of the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank yesterday expressed his admiration for Taiwan’s vibrant democracy and called on the government to continue expanding economic relationships with international partners as a means to defend itself.
“Economic security in this day and age is an irreplaceable part of broad-based security, military security and national defense,” Mark Green, who serves as president, director and chief executive of the Wilson Center, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Green led a delegation comprising academics and experts from the center on a visit to Taiwan from Monday to yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The delegation planned “to listen, to learn, to exchange ideas, and to explore ways in which the US and Taiwan can continue to expand people-to-people ties,” he said.
Taiwan shares the values of freedom, democracy and economic growth with the US, and has a lot to offer the world culturally, economically and technologically, Green said.
That echoed remarks he made during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday.
“What makes the Taiwan-US relationship unusual is not merely shared interests, but shared values,” he said.
The relationship between the US and Taiwan is not simply bilateral, but has the importance of contributing to the world and sharing technology with those in need, he said.
The world can be a better place the more Taiwan is engaged in international discussions, Green said, adding that “it’s also why the US continues to support Taiwan as a trusted friend.”
Having met with representatives of both the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) during the visit, Green said that “we have come away impressed with the vibrancy of the debate that is taking place, and the fact that there is a strong dedication to free and fair elections.”
Such a democracy is the key to defending against authoritarian power, he said.
The resilience of Taiwanese as they continue to grow their businesses and conduct groundbreaking research and technology in the face of Chinese pressure “is something to be admired,” Green said.
“As the people of Taiwan go to the polls to vote, that is the best statement that they can make,” he said.
Although military defense is not the focus of the think tank nor the purpose of the visit, Green said that the US would continue to support Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, as well as stability in the Taiwan Strait because “it is good for the world.”
At a banquet in their honor held by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Wednesday, delegation members said that they had a better understanding of China’s undue influence in the world and the threat it poses to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The delegation hoped to bolster cooperation between Taiwan and the US in a wider range of fields through research and academic activities, the ministry said.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
RSS