The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed to Taiwan a delegation of French parliament members led by Marie-Noelle Battistel, chair of the French National Assembly’s France-Taiwan Friendship Group.
During their stay in Taiwan from yesterday to Friday, the delegation is to meet with President William Lai (賴清德), Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Minister Without Portfolio Lin Min-hsin (林明昕) and Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝), the ministry said.
They would also visit the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in Chiayi County, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Battistel has been a member of the French National Assembly for five consecutive terms since 2010, and she was elected as the chair of the France-Taiwan Friendship Group this year, the ministry said.
She is a staunch friend of Taiwan and visiting the nation for the fourth time, it said.
The delegation also includes French National Assembly members Eric Martineau, Laetitia Saint-Paul, Marie-Jose Allemand and Claudia Rouaux.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Separately, the ministry yesterday said that a delegation led by Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine had completed their visit on Saturday and taken a flight back to the Marshall Islands that evening.
During Heine’s visit, she met with Lai, attended a state banquet, and received the Order of Brilliant Jade with Grand Cordon, Taiwan’s highest order, for her contributions in deepening the diplomatic partnership between the two nations, it said.
She also witnessed the signing of a Letter of Intent on Sports Exchange and Cooperation, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the ROC (Taiwan)-RMI Presidents’ Scholarship Fund, the ministry said.
Heine attended a dinner banquet hosted by Lin Chia-lung and a Marshall Islands trade and investment promotion seminar, received an honorary doctorate from National Chiayi University, and visited the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum and Taiwan Indigenous Culture Park, it added.
Meanwhile, the ministry said Lin on Thursday last week accompanied Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo to a Guatemala trade and investment promotion seminar in Taipei.
The event was also attended by American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene, Taipei-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association chairman Lyu Jye-cherng (呂桔誠), and more than 100 people from Taiwan’s textile, semiconductor, electric vehicle and circular economy industries, it said.
Aside from witnessing the signing of a letter of intent regarding the promotion of bilateral investment in supply chains by the two nations’ economic ministers, Arevalo also visited the Hsinchu Science Park, the Science-based Industrial Park Administration, and local semiconductor and textile companies, it said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the