Despite disagreements in Vanuatu regarding that country's diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Vanuatu Prime Minister Serge Vohor plans to appoint an ambassador to Taiwan by the end of next week, government spokesman Kalvao Moli said yesterday.
"The prime minister has indicated informally that [the appointment] will be done sometime next week," Moli told the Taipei Times yesterday over the telephone. Taipei has made similar statements regarding the appointment of an ambassador.
Vohor had been slated to make a televised appearance to address disagreement over ties with Taipei, but Moli said yesterday that the appearance had been delayed because the prime minister had yet to return from the island of Santo.
Vohor plans to address the issue today in a "formal declaration" of the country's continued commitment to ties with Taipei, the spokesman said.
"We are still committed to Taipei and the agreement with Taiwan," Moli said.
According to Moli, the Council of Ministers, the nation's Cabinet, has withdrawn its previous objections and now stands in support of the prime minister's decision to establish ties with Taiwan.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reported on Thursday that the Cabinet had unanimously decided to veto Vohor's decision and had threatened a vote of no confidence. Minister of Foreign Affairs Barak Sope was quoted in the report saying that in light of the veto, Vohor had two options: agree with the Cabinet or sack them all.
However, Moli yesterday said media reports had been "outrageous."
"We understand that several ministers have reservations, but after consultations they have come to agree that the prime minister's position is clear," Moli said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for comment yesterday.
"As we often say here, the `one China' policy will not take you to heaven," Moli said. He said financial assistance from Taipei of about 3.3 billion Vanuatu vatu (US$30.2 million) per year, in addition to agricultural and fishery programs and scholarships, were currently on the negotiating table, but that the figures were not definitive. Moli said that the lion's share of any financial assistance from Taiwan would be spent improving the nation's rural areas.
Despite Beijing's remarks that Vanuatu would adhere to the "one China" principle and revoke ties with Taipei, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held to the validity of the Nov. 4 communique which established diplomatic ties between Vanuatu and Taiwan.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique