Taiwan’s freedom is key to the technological advancement of the 21st century, and the world should protect that freedom from Chinese aggression, former British prime minister Boris Johnson said today in Taipei.
Johnson was addressing the opening of this year’s Ketagalan Forum hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his first visit to Taiwan.
Johnson began his speech by talking about artificial intelligence (AI), which he said is the key technology of the 21st century, calling himself “a total believer in AI and addict of ChatGPT.”
Photo: Screenshot from the Ketagalan Forum livestream
He said he looks forward to AI being utilized to its full potential throughout professions, adding that “great technological change always ends up creating more well-paid jobs than it destroys.”
“All of it is made possible by Taiwan,” as about 95 percent of the microprocessors necessary for AI are made here, Johnson said.
The chief reason for Taiwan’s success in the field is because “this is a free country where everyone has the equal protection of the law,” which gives people the courage to innovate, he said.
“It is vital for the whole world that we protect that freedom,” Johnson said.
He said he supports peaceful dialogue across the Taiwan Strait and spoke out against China’s unilateral attempts to change the “status quo” through intimidation.
He denounced how China is trying to bully Taiwan into submission by sending boats into Taiwan’s waters and planes into its airspace, saying that “it is a huge mistake to use intimidating and aggressive measures against Taiwan.”
The UK should deepen its economic partnership with Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression, Johnson said.
“We stand with you ... we share your values ... because we both understand that freedom is a wonderful thing,” he said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during