A project to devise publicity to counter China’s isolation of Taiwan in the international community is under way, with preliminary plans including light-box advertising at international airports and the submission of opinion pieces to international media to convey the government’s stance, a source familiar with the matter said.
Light-box advertising is part of the government’s strategy to promote Taiwan, which is being devised by the National Security Council, while Premier William Lai (賴清德) has instructed the Executive Yuan’s Department of Information Services to mobilize writers to submit opinion pieces to international media to express the government’s stance on China’s bullying of the nation in the international community, the source said.
The project forms part of a stage-one strategy, the specifics of which are being worked out, the source added.
China this year has flown warplanes around Taiwan, poached two of the nation’s diplomatic allies, pressured 44 international airlines into changing the way they refer to Taiwan on their Web sites and revoked Taichung’s right to host the first East Asian Youth Games, which were scheduled for August next year.
Many of Taiwan’s friends in the US, EU and Japanese governments, as well as at think tanks, have said that China’s bullying of Taiwan does not have a high enough profile internationally and that channels to learn about such incidents are lacking, the source said.
On visits to Taiwan, these friends have suggested to the government that it improve the nation’s international promotion channels to underscore the values it embraces, such as democracy and diversity, the source said, adding that the government has acted on the suggestion.
Establishing effective promotion channels are part of bolstering national security, so it is reasonable for the council to undertake the task, the source said.
Last week at an internal Cabinet meeting, Lai ordered personnel to oversee the writing of opinion pieces and have them submitted to international media, such as the Washington Post, whenever the nation faces bullying by China to solicit international support for Taiwan, the source said.
The Executive Yuan would discuss details regarding such submissions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the source added.
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