The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the fact that the United States once again affirmed Taiwan's democratic and human rights achievements in the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The section on Taiwan reaffirmed the county’s democratic government and its respect and protection of freedom and human rights.  According to the MOFA, as a frontline democracy facing authoritarianism, Taiwan attaches great importance to the protection of human rights and the exercise of its peoples’ freedoms and makes good use of the country's high-tech advantages to actively cooperate with t ..read more

President Tsai Ing-wen received a delegation from Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies at the Presidential Office April 23 in Taipei City, pledging to continue advancing relations with the U.S. to promote wide-ranging cooperation.   The bipartisan delegation is led by CSIS Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair Victor Cha and comprises two former Congress members and four senior officials from the past four U.S. administrations.   According to the president, despite changes to the international landscape in recent years, Taiwan remains co ..read more

University coalitions from Taiwan and Japan concluded a memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation April 22 in Fukuoka, marking another milestone in the bilateral partnership, according to the Ministry of Education.   The agreement was signed by Chen Wen-chang, president of Taipei City-based National Taiwan University, and his counterpart Tatsuro Ishibashi, of Fukuoka’s Kyushu University, and laid out points of collaboration between the University Academic Alliance in Taiwan and the Kyushu-Okinawa Open University. Also in attendance were Deputy Education Minister Lio Mon-chi ..read more

The visit by three members of the U.S. House of Representatives is sincerely welcomed by the government and people of Taiwan as the 45th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act is celebrated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said April 23.   According to the MOFA, the group comprises Lisa McClain, secretary of the House Republican Conference who serves on the Committee on Armed Services; Dan Kildee of the Democratic Party who serves on the Ways and Means Committee; and Mark Alford of the Republican Party who also serves on the Armed Services Committee.   During their stay April 23-25 ..read more

Premier Chen Chien-jen kicked off the international review of the first national report on the implementation of the U.N. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) April 22 in Taipei City, highlighting Taiwan’s commitment to ensuring the rights of all members of society.   Taiwan has codified six international human rights conventions into domestic law, Chen said, adding that the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Enforced Disappearance was passed by the Executive Yuan in February, while legislation for others, i ..read more

Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu lauded the warmth of the bond between Taiwan and New Zealand and called for deeper cooperation in the face of authoritarianism during an interview April 19. The minister also discussed further exchanges on education and Indigenous cultures while speaking with Sam Sachdeva from the online media outlet Newsroom for an article released April 22 entitled “Taiwan wants NZ support to counter ‘expanding authoritarianism.’’’ Wu said that Taiwan and New Zealand both value democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law highly, adding that the 2013 agreement on ..read more

A motion passed April 18 by the Netherlands’ House of Representatives which urged its government to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations is sincerely appreciated by the government and people, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The friendly motion was jointly proposed by cross-party members Jan Patternote of the Democrats 66 party (D66), Kati Piri of the GreenLeft/Labour Party (GL/PvdA) and Ruben Brekelmans of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the ministry added. The proposal called for the Netherlands government to urge other member natio ..read more

The passage of the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 by the U.S. House of Representatives is sincerely appreciated by the government and people of Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said April 21.   According to the MOFA, the act was passed in a 385-34 vote alongside legislation to assist Israel and Ukraine April 20. It will provide US$8.12 billion for military assistance to Taiwan and the maintenance of regional peace and stability.   Of the total, US$2 billion is slated for military financing to Indo-Pacific countries, including Taiwan, the MOFA said ..read more

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations for reiterating the importance of cross-strait peace and supporting Taiwan’s meaningful global participation.   In the statement following their meeting April 17-19 in Capri, Italy, the ministers restated the indispensability of Taiwan Strait peace and stability to global security and prosperity and called for peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, the MOFA said.   They also voiced support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including in the World Health ..read more

The 2024 World Indigenous Tourism Summit held its closing ceremony April 18 at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center in the southern Taiwan city, according to the Council of Indigenous Peoples. The three-day summit, which featured two keynote speeches, four forum topics and six group discussions, attracted over 600 participants from 27 countries and territories. Prominent attendees included CIP Minister Icyang Parod and representatives from Austronesian Forum member countries and the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance. According to the CIP, the fruitful multilateral dialogue led to the formulation ..read more