Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for unanimously passing a resolution condemning Chinese military activity and reiterating that UN Resolution 2758 does not take a position on Taiwan.
The resolution, proposed by Belgian representatives Els Van Hoof and Nathalie Muylle, passed yesterday with 126 votes in favor, zero votes against and 13 abstentions. It also calls on the Belgian government to urge Beijing to cease escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait and to resist China’s distortion of Resolution 2758 to exclude Taiwan from international affairs.
It requested the government to advocate in the EU the “strengthening [of] the existing partnership with Taiwan, with a view to promoting common values and principles, including by concluding a resilient supply chain agreement and a bilateral investment agreement.”
Photo: Dirk Waem, AFP
The resolution also called for the government to strive “together with the governments of the federated entities, for more economic, scientific, cultural and parliamentary exchanges between Belgium and Taiwan.”
Beyond bilateral ties, the representatives advocated for Taiwan’s meaningful participation as an observer “in meetings, mechanisms and activities of international bodies,” such as in the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
They called out China’s escalating aggressive military acts and urged it to “immediately cease all actions and intrusions,” and to stop “all other gray zone military actions, including cyber and disinformation campaigns.”
The Belgian parliament previously passed pro-Taiwan resolutions, one in November 2015 and another in July 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
It is the first time it has passed a resolution condemning China’s threats against Taiwan and the first pro-Taiwan resolution passed since the newly elected parliament opened in July last year, marking a significant stride in Taiwan-Belgium relations, the ministry said.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS