President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan.
The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello.
McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said.
Photo: CNA
Ireland is a thriving hub for technology and creative industries in Europe, and, like Taiwan, has an export-oriented economy, he said, adding that the industrial structures of the two nations complement each other.
Lai expressed hope that Taiwan’s electronics manufacturing and machinery sectors would deepen collaboration with Ireland’s information technology, software and biomedicine industries.
On Ireland’s “Silicon Island” policy, Lai said that Taiwan looks forward to working with democratic partners to build a “non-red” technology supply chain — one that does not include China.
Ireland’s policy, announced in May, aims to strengthen the country’s role in the global semiconductor industry, a goal that Lai said aligns closely with Taiwan’s objectives.
Lai said that Taiwan and Ireland can enhance cooperation and mutually enhance the competitiveness of each other’s semiconductor industries, ultimately working together to create a value-based, democratic economic system
He also thanked McGuinness for his congratulatory message when Lai was elected president, adding that both Taiwan and Ireland are defenders of democratic and liberal values.
Lai reaffirmed that Taiwan would continue to demonstrate through concrete actions its commitment to being a reliable democratic partner that can contribute to the global community.
McGuinness said he was honored to meet with Lai once again, adding that Ireland continues to take steps to further strengthen Irish-Taiwan relations.
He also said that several of the members of the delegation, while newly elected, represent the passing of the association’s spirit to the next generation, citing O’Flynn, whose father had previously chaired the association, as an example.
International trade and markets are facing significant challenges and uncertainties, and the EU, including Ireland, plays a critical role in global finances, McGuinness said, adding that Ireland would continue to contribute to democracy and free trade.
He also proposed artificial intelligence (AI) as a potential area for collaboration between Taiwan and Ireland, adding that efforts are needed to ensure humanity remains in control of AI, rather than the other way around.
McGuinness said that traditional trade should not be overlooked and called for efforts to expand the trade volume between the two nations.
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
Taipei on Thursday held urban resilience air raid drills, with residents in one of the exercises’ three “key verification zones” reporting little to no difference compared with previous years, despite government pledges of stricter enforcement. Formerly known as the Wanan exercise, the air raid drills, which concluded yesterday, are now part of the “Urban Resilience Exercise,” which also incorporates the Minan disaster prevention and rescue exercise. In Taipei, the designated key verification zones — where the government said more stringent measures would be enforced — were Songshan (松山), Zhongshan (中山) and Zhongzheng (中正) districts. Air raid sirens sounded at 1:30pm, signaling the
The number of people who reported a same-sex spouse on their income tax increased 1.5-fold from 2020 to 2023, while the overall proportion of taxpayers reporting a spouse decreased by 4.4 percent from 2014 to 2023, Ministry of Finance data showed yesterday. The number of people reporting a spouse on their income tax trended upward from 2014 to 2019, the Department of Statistics said. However, the number decreased in 2020 and 2021, likely due to a drop in marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic and the income of some households falling below the taxable threshold, it said. The number of spousal tax filings rebounded
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked