Former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) yesterday ended a visit to Taiwan, having met President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to express his friendship with Taiwan, as well as the friendship between the Singaporean and Taiwanese governments.
Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said Lee’s incognito visit was primarily the result of his regard for Ma’s cross-strait policies and her office’s hard work in building trust between the two countries.
Lee said last year that Beijing did not express displeasure at Singaporean officials visiting Taiwan, which he attributed to warming ties across the Taiwan Strait.
“I think the obstacle [visiting Taiwan] has been cleared,” he said.
In a statement, the Presidential Office said Lee had praised Ma’s policy of “no unification, no independence and no use of force” in the Taiwan Strait, saying it benefitted both sides and was supported by other countries in the region.
Lee also praised Ma for bringing Taiwan out of the global financial crisis so quickly.
The Presidential Office’s statement said Ma had thanked Lee for the “crucial role” played by Singapore in regional economic integration, ongoing negotiations on an economic partnership agreement and for providing the location for talks between former Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) and former Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait chairman Wang Daohan (汪道涵) in 1993, the first official talks between Taiwan and China since 1949.
Lee arrived in Taiwan on Monday accompanied by his daughter Lee Wei Ling (李瑋玲) and he left yesterday.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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