Israel is an important global start-up hub, and hopefully, based on shared values of democracy and freedom, Taiwan and Israel can continue to deepen their partnership and leverage their respective strengths to build more resilient global supply chains together, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The cross-party delegation was led by Taiwan-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group chair Boaz Toporovsky.
Photo: Screenshot from the Presidential Office’s Web site
It has been more than 30 years since Israel and Taiwan mutually established representative offices, and both countries have worked closely and held regular dialogues in the fields of energy, environment and economics, Tsai said.
Over the past three decades, Taiwan and Israel have also signed 33 agreements and enhanced exchanges in the fields of education and public health, she said, adding that a joint declaration of tourism collaboration was signed last month.
Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency and other companies hope to have more cooperation opportunities with Israel, Tsai said.
In reference to Iran launching an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday evening, Tsai also expressed her sincere concern and condolences, and condemned the use of violence to destroy world peace.
Taiwan is a beacon of freedom and democracy, and Tsai is a role model of democracy and freedom leadership, Toporovsky said.
He expressed his condolences to the victims of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien, and added that the quake has once again shown Taiwan’s strength and resilience to the world.
Taiwan and Israel are good friends, and although people in both countries face difficult situations, both are small and strong democratic countries, and that friendship would become more stable, while cooperation would continue to expand, he said.
Later yesterday at a press conference, Toporovsky said the delegation appreciated the collaboration between Taiwan and Israel and the support shown by Tsai and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in the wake of the Iranian attacks.
Regarding what Israel needs at the moment, Boaz Bismuth, one of the four delegation members, said that with 120,000 people forced to evacuate from their homes, Israel needs humanitarian aid, and he said the international community should care about the situation there.
"I think Taiwan felt exactly the grief in which we were the first day [after the attack], and solidarity is the word," he said.
Separately, all Taiwanese nationals in Iran and Israel have been reported safe, Wu said yesterday.
Currently, there are a little more than 20 Taiwanese expatriates who are now naturalized Iranians living in the West Asian country, Wu said.
More than 200 Taiwanese nationals and their spouses and children are in Israel, data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed.
The ministry also called on people to refrain from traveling to both countries due to heightened tensions in the Middle East.
It has also issued the second highest-level orange alert for both Israel and Iran.
The ministry uses a four-tiered travel advisory regarding safety and security risks. The lowest level, grey, signifies caution should be exercised; yellow suggests travel should be reconsidered; orange indicates unnecessary travel should be avoided; and red asks nationals not to travel to a destination.
People can call Taiwan’s representative offices in Israel at +972-544-275-204 and in Dubai at +971-50-6453018, as well as the Taiwan Trade Center in Tehran at +98-21-8879-4243.
Additional reporting by CNA
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
RSS