President William Lai (賴清德) is to hold a press conference today alongside senior officials in charge of national security, economic and foreign affairs to outline the next steps in advancing Taiwan-US cooperation, the Presidential Office announced yesterday.
It comes on the heels of the conclusion of the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue in Washington on Tuesday last week. It was the sixth round of talks under the framework, and the first since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January last year, with the two sides signing the “Silicon Renaissance Declaration” and a “Joint Statement on Taiwan-US Economic Security Cooperation.”
The agreements reflect a shared commitment to deepen cooperation across seven key areas, including artificial intelligence supply chains and accelerating efforts to resolve issues such as double taxation, Taiwanese officials said.
Photo courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
This year’s dialogue was led by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg on the US side, while Taiwan was represented by Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫).
Presidential Office officials said that since taking office, Lai has pursued a clear economic strategy centered on “rooting in Taiwan, adding the United States, deploying globally and marketing to the world.”
Against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring and intensifying geoeconomic competition, the Lai administration aims to deepen dialogue with the US while strengthening industrial cooperation and investment ties to support Taiwan’s international expansion, it said.
The government will continue to prioritize national interests, broaden its network of international economic and trade partners, and enhance Taiwan’s resilience and strategic importance within global supply chains, it added.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
RSS