A delegation of The House of Commons of Canada led by The Honorable John Brassard visited Taiwan. This delegation of 9 members paid their visit to the Taichung City Government today (18th). They were received by Deputy Mayor Ling-Hu Rong-Ta, who acted on behalf of Mayor Lu Hsiu-Yan. Deputy Mayor Ling-Hu expressed his gratitude to Canada for granting visa-free visit status in favor of the people of Taiwan, and entering into a number of bilateral trade and economic agreements with Taiwan. Deputy Mayor Ling-Hu has been appointed to be stationed in Ottawa, Canada. He has visited more than 100 members of The Parliament of Canada. Both Taiwan and Canada are democratic nations, and he hopes that the frequent economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two could be developed further.

The members of The House of Commons of Canada, The Honorable John Brassard, The Honorable Pat Kelly, The Honorable Kelly McCauley and The Honorable Jim Eglinski stayed in Taiwan from January 12 to January 20, 2019. Their itinerary included visits to the Legislative Yuan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Mainland Affairs Council and the “Canadian Trade Office in Taipei” (CTOT). Taichung is the nucleus city in central Taiwan that has attracted The Honorable John Brassard and the delegation to visit. They toured around the State Opera House in Taichung and the Hou Li Forest Park, the place where the World Floral Expo was held.

Deputy Mayor Ling-Hu welcomed their visit on behalf of Mayor Lu Hsiu-Yan. He recalled his previous overseas appointment in Ottawa, Canada in 2014. He has visited The House of Commons of Canada more than 100 times and has met more than 100 of its members in just 30 months. He wished to develop and strengthen the friendship between Taiwan and Canada.
Deputy Mayor Ling-Hu has also been busy with work related to the signing of the “Foreign Investment Protection Agreement” (FIPA) between Taiwan and Canada, and spared no effort in rallying for the support of Canada in the accession of Taiwan to “The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership” (CPTPP). For this reason, he has been travelling to many major cities of Canada, including Toronto and Vancouver, to hold conferences for the improvement of the economic, trade, cultural and tourist exchanges between Taiwan and Canada.
The relationship between Taiwan and Canada is so intimate and important. Both are democratic nations and have entered into several multi-lateral economic and trade agreements. In addition, Canada has announced that it is granting visa-free visits in favor of the people of Taiwan. This is indeed a result of the concerted efforts of so many people and I am deeply appreciative, said Deputy Mayor Ling-Hu.

The Honorable Brassard said that this was his first time in Taiwan with the delegation from The House of Commons of Canada and they were warmly received by the Taichung City Government. There are a number of trade partnership relations binding Canada and Taiwan, and both sides have engaged in frequent exchanges on economic and trade matters. In the future, The Honorable Brassard wished for further exchanges in the areas of artificial intelligence, environmental protection, mineral fuels and crude oil.
The large population of immigrants from Taiwan in Canada would strengthen the bi-lateral relationship between Canada and Taiwan in terms of cultural and economic exchanges, said The Honorable Brassard. Japan is in the process of leading the signing of the CPTPP and extends the invitation to more prospective participating states in the agreement with the second wave of consultation among the member states.

To his knowledge, Taiwan is eager to be a part of the CPTPP and enter into the FIPA with Canada. He will bring back what he saw and what he heard from the government and people of Taiwan to the new government after the election.