President William Lai (賴清德) today received a visiting delegation from New Zealand’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan, the Presidential Office said today in a news release.
The delegation is jointly led by New Zealand member of parliament (MP) Stuart Smith — the senior whip of the National Party — and Labour Party MP Tangi Utikere, it said.
Lai expressed hope that the two nations would promote exchanges and deepen cooperation in sectors from smart agriculture and food production to biotech and pharmaceuticals, the statement said.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA
He also hoped to expand collaboration in digital economy and clean energy projects and promote exchanges between the two countries’ Indigenous peoples, it added.
Lai said he hoped the democratic allies would come together to face the challenges of rapidly shifting global dynamics and the growing threat of authoritarianism.
He also said that democratic countries must unite to ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific region and promote stable economic growth.
Lai thanked New Zealand on behalf of Taiwanese for its repeated assurances over the past year of the importance of regional peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan, formed in 2023, marked an important milestone in Taiwan-New Zealand relations, Lai said.
He expressed his gratitude to Smith and Utikere, who are both members of the group, for their commitment to developing bilateral exchanges.
The Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) was put into full effect this year, Lai said.
Both New Zealand and Taiwan are island countries surrounded by the ocean, Utikere said, adding that it is therefore important for them to build steadfast partnerships with like-minded allies around the world.
The two countries are trading countries that rely on imports and exports, necessitating freedom of ship navigation between the two, Smith said.
New Zealand dispatched navy vessels through the Taiwan Strait last year to reiterate the importance of Taiwan’s security, he added.
Smith also said that New Zealand could collaborate further with Taiwan on geothermal energy.
New Zealand is also the world’s third-largest location for launching satellite rockets and could further aid Taiwan in communications, he said.
He hoped for long and prosperous relations between the two countries in the future.
Following local traditions, the delegation performed a song after the meeting as a gesture of goodwill, singing the traditional Indigenous Maori-language song “TUTIRA MAI NGA IWI,” the release said.
Academics believe that the Maori language may have originated in Taiwan, the delegation said.
The song conveyed a message that everyone and every country should pursue knowledge and love together and expressed hope for lasting peace acquired through unity and concerted efforts, the delegation said.
Additional reporting by Fion Khan
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS