An envoy of Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Taiwan this weekend for a week-long visit, during which he is expected to go to areas devastated by Typhoon Morakot to console victims of the disaster, officials said yesterday.
Cardinal Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, will participate on the pope’s behalf at an international conference on humanitarian aid scheduled for Monday to Friday at Taipei’s Fu Jen Catholic University.
Wang Yu-yuan (王豫元), Taiwan’s ambassador to the Holy See, said in a telephone interview that his embassy is making arrangements for Cordes to visit disaster areas in southern Taiwan to convey the pope’s concern for victims.
Given Cordes’ close relationship with the pope and his influence in the Holy See, his visit fully demonstrates the importance the pope attaches to relations with Taiwan, Wang said.
Officials at the Catholic Archdiocese of Taipei said eight other cardinals and 50 bishops from other countries, including South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, will also attend the conference.
Liu Chen-chung (劉振忠), bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaohsiung, said that the participants may visit typhoon-affected areas, especially those in hard-hit Kaohsiung County, to pray for the victims.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
RSS