A delegation of US representatives led by US Congressional Taiwan Caucus cochair Ami Bera arrived in Taiwan for a three-day visit today.
This visit demonstrates US Congress’ ongoing support for Taiwan and its commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.
The delegation is made up entirely of Democratic Party representatives and also includes US representatives Gabe Amo, Wesley Bell, Julie Johnson, Sara McBridge and Johnny Olszewski.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
Bera in particular has a long history of supporting Taiwan, having promoted Taiwan-friendly bills and Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, and opposed China’s “legal warfare,” the ministry said.
Other members of the delegation have also expressed public support for Taiwan, the ministry added.
The delegation has already met with President William Lai (賴清德) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), and has scheduled a conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) to discuss issues such as Taiwan-US relations, regional security and supply chain resilience.
At their meeting, Lai told the delegates that the government is prioritizing a special budget to increase defense spending to 3 percent of GDP this year, adding that he hopes Taiwan-US military cooperation can expand to include joint research and development.
Lai thanked the delegates for their initiatives in support of Taiwan, bolstering Taiwan-US relations and continuing to focus on the stability of the Taiwan Strait.
Two-way investment and economic cooperation between Taiwan and the US can only get stronger, Lai said.
Hopefully, the bill to eliminate double taxation between Taiwan and the US would be passed into law this year, he added.
Lai also specially thanked Bera for writing joint letter on the taxation issue, which was signed by hundreds of members of congress.
Democracies should seek to protect freedom and peace in Asia, Bera said, adding that their visit comes at a critical time for Taiwan-US relations and the international community.
Bera said that he and Lai are both doctors and share the vision that everyone should be allowed to enjoy peace and prosperity.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
RSS