A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday confirmed a report that Taiwan would soon have its first Aboriginal ambassador.
The ministry is planning to select an Aborigine to serve as the nation's representative to Fiji, ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (
Yeh made the remarks in a phone interview with the Taipei Times after being asked for comment on a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) yesterday.
The Liberty Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
President Chen Shui-bian (
"I believe the minister has someone in mind already, but he would rather not say who at this point," Yeh said yesterday.
"The ideal candidate we're looking for is someone who is an Aborigine and has certain experience in dealing with foreign affairs," Yeh said.
"Although the ability to speak fluent English would be a plus, it's not a requirement," she said, adding that there was no deadline to appoint a new ambassador.
"A lot of communication and negotiations have to be done before the final candidate can be confirmed" and the process may take some time, she said.
The last ambassador to Fiji, Kuo Shih-nan (
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ying (
Chen Ying is an Aborigine of the Puyuma tribe.
"I would be happy to see the plan become reality," she told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview.
"After all, Aborigines in Taiwan and peoples of Pacific islands share similar cultural heritage and blood" and thus have a special rapport with the nation's Pacific allies, she said.
She also expressed interest in the position.
"I would be very glad to take the position if they ask me to," she said.
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
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
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
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