President William Lai (賴清德) today announced the establishment of a national economic “steering group” following the signing of the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade.
Lai said he would serve as the convener of the new group under the Presidential Office, which would be tasked with coordinating with the Executive Yuan’s Economic Development Commission — led by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) — to address structural economic challenges.
Lai made the remarks at a news conference following a high-level national security meeting following the signing of the agreement yesterday in Washington.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
He was accompanied by Cho, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
The national security team and Cabinet would collaborate on formulating strategies for “elevating the nation’s economy to a new level,” Lai said, expressing hope that the government, opposition parties, business sector and civil society could work together to advance Taiwan’s economy.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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