The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day.
Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page.
Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.
Photo: Chang Ling-chu, Taipei Times
Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a “happy birthday,” and stated his support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The event was joined by 400 Canadian supporters from business, academia, politics and media, as well as indigenous leaders and representatives from the local Taiwanese community.
Nibun Chorus, a Bunun Indigenous singing group from Kaohsiung, also gave a performance.
Chief Frank Antoine of the Bonaparte First Nation and chair of the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance said he looks forward to bringing a delegation of 30 to Taiwan for the World Indigenous Traditional Games in December.
He added that he had a “favorable impression” of Taiwan after visiting last year’s World Indigenous Summit.
Liberal lawmaker Wade Chang (張瑋麟), the only member of Canada’s parliament born in Taiwan, “praised the contributions of Taiwanese-Canadians across the country, acknowledging their perseverance, resilience and community spirit,” the post said.
The event was led by office Director-General Liu Li-hsin (劉立欣).
Liu praised Taiwan for its democratic system, semiconductor industry, innovation in artificial intelligence, human rights record and as a “bastion of free speech,” it added.
She further promoted Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations — including the ICAO, the UN, the WHO and Interpol — even while China “continues to deliberately misinterpret” UN Resolution 2758 to exclude Taiwan, she said.
Since Canada introduced its Indo-Pacific Strategy three years ago, Canada has made routine transits through the Taiwan Strait, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has spoken out on behalf of Taiwanese interests at the G7 and the Canada-EU Summit, she added.
The two nations have also signed a memorandum of understanding on dark vessel detection systems to further promote peace and stability in the region, she said.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
RSS