Following the end of the recent diplomatic fracas between the Solomon Islands and Taiwan, the Solomon Islands Embassy in Taipei was formally opened yesterday to mark what officials termed "a new chapter" in the bilateral ties established in 1983.
"Today we are gathered here to witness an occasion that marks another chapter in our relations with the government of the Republic of China," said visiting Solomon Islands Prime Minister Monasseh Sogavare in the opening speech.
Taiwan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) echoed Sogavare's view, saying the opening of the embassy marked "a new chapter" in bilateral relations.
Chen Jung-huei (
The 17-year ties between the two countries were threatened when Solomons' foreign minister Danny Philip unexpectedly canceled his scheduled trip to Taipei and instead journeyed to Hong Kong to meet Chinese officials to discuss the possibility of China offering the war-torn country financial aid.
The aid agreement would have involved cutting links with Taiwan. But the Solomons' Cabinet decided later that ties with Taipei would remain "intact."
The Solomons' fence-mending trip to Taipei also involved talks concerning Taipei's financial aid to the country, but the Solomons' finance minister, Snyder Rini, said yesterday the amount of Taipei's aid has yet to be finalized.
Representatives from the World Bank and the IMF, according to Rini, are currently visiting the war-torn country to assess the amount of financial aid the state will need to accomplish the goals listed in a peace agreement signed between the two militias in Australia last month.
The size of Taipei's aid package would be contingent upon the final assessment made by the World Bank and the IMF, Rini said.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)