Taiwan did not provide funds and technology to produce 8-inch wafers to Lithuania to cultivate ties with Vilnius, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, denying accusations by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇).
Wang earlier yesterday told a news conference in Taipei that she received information that Taiwan provided Lithuania with “subsidies” that were not in accordance with common diplomatic practice.
Taiwan in October 2021 signed a memorandum with Lithuania to cooperate in the semiconductor industry by jointly investing in a Lithuanian company, she said.
Photo: CNA
Lithuania later asked Taiwan to provide 14 million euros (US$15.3 million), more than double the 6.5 million euros originally agreed on, including a 6.2 million euro technology transfer fee to be paid to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Wang said.
The ministry in a statement called Wang’s comments a “false accusation” that would “trample on the efforts of Taiwan’s diplomats and economic and trade personnel, as well as hurt the friendship between Taiwan and Lithuania.”
The cooperation between the two countries was based on Taiwan’s mature semiconductor technologies and Lithuania’s world-leading laser technologies, the ministry said.
The funds from the two sides were to help Lithuania build its semiconductor capabilities, not build a semiconductor plant, it said.
Lithuania would fund development of the industry, the statement said.
The ITRI signed a contract with a large-scale Lithuanian technology company designated by its government to authorize the use of related technology, which could help boost the global influence of Taiwan’s technology and industry, it said.
Taiwan and Lithuania are democratic partners that fight against authoritarian expansionism together, it said, adding that the two sides are boosting democratic resilience and economic ties through industrial cooperation.
The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was opened in 2021, the first office in Europe to be called Taiwanese, it said.
Despite facing political and economic pressure from Beijing over its decision to allow the use of the word “Taiwanese,” Lithuania stands strong and continues to improve ties with Taiwan, the ministry said.
Taipei and Vilnius are reliable and solid partners, it said, vowing to continue to deepen the cooperation with Lithuania and to promote a sustainable and resilient partnership.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to