The United States Department of State and Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have publicly refuted highly inappropriate statements by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said that the political prerequisite for Taiwan’s involvement in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings would be participating as a regional economy under the so-called “one China principle.” They have also voiced strong backing for Taiwan’s equal participation in APEC.

While attending a regular hearing of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee on November 5, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot stated in response to a question that France strongly opposed any unilateral attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait by force or coercion.

Typhoon Kalmaegi recently caused severe flooding in central Philippines, including the province of Cebu. To date, over 110 people have perished and more than 700,000 have been evacuated.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung attended a ceremony Nov. 4 in Taipei City to send off 16 young agricultural ambassadors to visit Australia Nov. 22-30.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Deputy Foreign Minister François Chih-chung Wu met with international journalists and spoke about government policy on climate change, defense resilience, energy security and technology cooperation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a tour of northern Taiwan’s smart agriculture industry for foreign diplomatic corps Oct. 30-31.

As an official member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, it is natural for Taiwan to engage in exchanges and interactions with other APEC member economies, both multilaterally and bilaterally, during APEC meetings.

Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi attended the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Malaysia and met for the first time with Chinese Minister of Defense Dong Jun on November 1. During the Japan-China defense ministerial meeting, Minister Koizumi emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung welcomes these statements and expresses his appreciation.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held bilateral talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on October 31 during her trip to the Republic of Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. This marked her first meeting with the Chinese leader since she took office as prime minister.

The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother, mother of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkom.