President Chen Shui-bian (
The president accepted the US offer to refuel in Alaska on his way and on his return journey, after Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office Representative in Washington Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) negotiated with the US for permission to make a transit stop.
Chen will meet with AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt during a 90-minute refueling stop at Anchorage airport, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang said the main purpose of Chen's trip was to attend the inauguration of Guatemalan president-elect Alvaro Colom on Monday.
"The inauguration is a very significant diplomatic arena for the country," Huang said.
When Chen made a US transit -- also in Anchorage -- en route to Central America last year, his plane was limited to a 50 minute refueling stop.
During the brief period, Chen chose not to step out of the plane and put on stickers that read "UN for Taiwan," a gesture described by his entourage as a "silent protest" against US opposition to a referendum on the nation applying for UN membership using the name Taiwan.
Lin said yesterday that Chen and his entourage would not put on stickers this time, but he did not say whether the president would step out of the plane.
"There is no need to put the stickers on because the world already knows about the UN referendum," Lin said.
The Presidential Office said Chen would hold bilateral meetings with the heads of Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and Nicaragua.
After a three-day stay in Guatemala, Chen will head to Saint Lucia -- his first visit since the country established diplomatic ties with Taiwan in May.
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