Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) on Thursday thanked US lawmakers for their support of Taiwan, adding that the KMT would strive to improve inter-parliamentary exchanges as the majority party in the legislature.
Hsia, currently visiting the US, made the remark during a meeting with US representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and Ro Khanna, a member of the House Armed Services committee, KMT assistant director of international affairs Howard Shen (沈正浩) said.
The KMT vice chairman told the two lawmakers that his party’s foreign policy is to show an affinity toward the US, pursue friendship with Japan and make peace with China, Shen said.
Photo courtesy of the KMT
Hsia also discussed the KMT’s stance on US-Taiwan relations, cross-strait relations and Legislative Yuan reform with the staff of several US senators on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and extended an invitation for them to visit their KMT counterparts, Shen added.
He traveled to the US to see old friends, exchange views about the KMT’s future with academics and think tanks, and explain the KMT’s national defense policy to the US, Hsia told reporters in Washington on Friday.
He also made it clear to the US that the KMT supports Taiwan increasing its defense budget and purchasing arms, and that comments by its members at the legislature should not be interpreted as opposition to efforts toward strengthening Taiwan’s defensive capabilities, Hsia added.
However, in addition to strengthening Taiwan’s defenses, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must also have channels for dialogue and communication, he said, citing the meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing as a good example.
The KMT has always supported the promotion of dialogue and communication that are conducive to cross-strait stability and peace, Hsia said, adding that Ma’s visit to China is a plus for the KMT.
Hsia said he is to visit Shaoxing City in China’s Zhejiang Province later this month to participate in cultural activities to honor Xia Yu, also known as Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia Dynasty.
The organizers have invited him to the annual event for the past three years, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it could only be held remotely, he said.
Hsia has been on back-to-back visits to China in February and last month, earning media criticism for the frequency of his trips.
His visits were to serve Taiwanese entrepreneurs there, as there are about 150 Taiwanese trade associations in China, and attend cultural events to which he was specifically invited, Hsia said in response.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS