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
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS