Canadian Senate Opposition Leader Leo Housakos is visiting Taiwan at the head of a delegation to deepen bilateral ties and enhance cooperation on foreign information manipulation and interference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
During a luncheon with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) on Wednesday, Housakos said that Taiwan and Canada uphold human rights and democracy, and are important partners in several fields, the ministry said in a statement.
The visit is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the latest political, economic and trade developments in Taiwan, as well as promoting closer cooperation in areas such as foreign information manipulation and interference, medical care and indigenous affairs, the ministry quoted Housakos as saying.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Separate statements issued by the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that the nine-member delegation arrived in Taipei on Tuesday for a six-day visit and met with Chiang on the first day.
Housakos on social media said that he also met with Chen and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) earlier this week.
Separately, visiting US Senator Jim Banks said during a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday that the legislature should pass a stalled special defense budget to send a signal to China and the world that Taiwan is serious about peace through strength.
According to a video of the meeting provided by Lai’s office, Banks, a Republican who sits on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, told Lai that he was providing leadership in expanding defense spending.
“But your Legislative Yuan has to do its part and pass the special budget, and that’s one message that I want to send to your leadership,” Banks said.
“When you pass the special budget in the legislature, that is a signal to China, and to the rest of the world, that Taiwan is serious about peace through strength,” he said. “I appreciate President Lai’s leadership in making that happen.”
Banks was one of a group of 37 bipartisan US lawmakers who in February wrote to senior Taiwanese politicians expressing concern about the legislature stalling defense spending plans.
Lai told Banks that Taiwan “loved peace,” but only strength could ensure it.
“Taiwan is willing to engage in dialogue, but no engagement can come at the cost of sacrificing democracy, freedom and national interests,” he said.
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
BAIT AND SWITCH: Allowing KMT-run counties to sell to China while the threat of abrupt cancelations hangs overhead is another form of coercion, officials said Beijing is using agricultural purchase offers announced during the Straits Forum to deepen Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese market, a Taiwanese official said yesterday as they criticized the Taitung County commissioner’s participation in the initiative. During the Straits Forum held in Xiamen on Saturday, Chinese officials announced a sales and purchase agreement for agricultural products from some counties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), who was barred from attending the event in person by the Mainland Affairs Council, participated via video. Under the agreement, China would purchase atemoyas, pomeloes, tea and grouper harvested in Taitung,
SHIFTING FIRE: While the tempo of purely military exercises around Taiwan has gone down somewhat, Beijing is working to isolate Lai diplomatically from support abroad Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is shifting tactics in his campaign to pressure Taiwan, ramping up diplomatic isolation of the nation while dialing down provocative displays of military aggression. Taiwan recorded a daily average of five Chinese military aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait’s buffer line with China through May this year — half the number logged in the same period last year. In March, Beijing did not send a single fighter jet near Taiwan for seven days, the longest absence on record outside of typhoon season. In comparison, China sent 153 planes near Taiwan during one day at its peak in
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
RSS