Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chung Chia-pin on Thursday announced the establishment of a new Taiwan-Vietnam parliamentary friendship association. The event was attended by a number of senior economic and diplomatic officials.
Chung said his constituency in Pingtung in southern Taiwan is home to many Vietnamese expatriates. He says he sees exchanges between Taiwan and Vietnam growing closer and hopes parliamentary exchanges can boost Taiwan’s international presence.
The secretary general of the foreign ministry, Paul Wen-liang Chang, was present at the event. He said he looks forward to reciprocal visits by legislators from the two countries in the future. He also said he hopes Vietnam can help Taiwan strengthen its ties with other members of the ASEAN bloc of Southeast Asian countries.
“In 2015 trade between Taiwan and Vietnam reached US$13.1 billion. Taiwan is Vietnam’s fifth biggest trading partner," said Chang.
"In terms of labor cooperation, we are grateful for the 110,000 Vietnamese workers living and working in Taiwan, helping Taiwan’s economic and social development. In terms of tourism, there are now around 95 flights a week between Taiwan and Vietnam and from next month there will be 104. We congratulate Vietnam on becoming a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We hope Vietnam will support Taiwan’s participation in the TPP and other regional economic mechanisms.”