Dear compatriots, At the occasion of the 2002 Dynasty celebration I once more want to share with all you my best wishes to the royal family of Belgium. The meaning of a dynastic celebration is, as was reminded last Friday in presence of the royal family during the Te Deum in Brussels and as was also later echoed at the official reception in the Belgian Senate, that royalty probably is in a democratic federal and Kingdom the best example of combined perennial power and responsibility.
Similarly, whatever our position or responsibilities are in this society, I personally feel privileged for sharing the many values of our host country. Similarly I will continue to share, whenever possible, our own cultural dignity with that of our host country, Taiwan.
As Belgians living in Taiwan, we probably more than others appreciate and better understand the values of the multi-cultural, multi-language environment that became ours over the years. Most of us, I am sure, have gained much from the enrichment that living in the midst of another nation is bringing to our everyday lives.
As member of the Belgian community in Taiwan, I would want to continue to know all of you personally and whenever possible or necessary assist you in accomplishing your duty of citizen.
Our Taiwanese friends are even more than others sensitive to the meaning of identity. As Taiwan and Belgium are close equal in size, I feel that the national diversity that for centuries we have shared within our national space and that also will be shared more than ever before within our newly expanded European House will make the experience of the Belgian house even more valuable.
Since the time that the Romans brought us our laws with our sense for local freedom and justice we have gained an invaluable experience in sharing other European cultures on our own national soil. This made us Belgians prone for the unprejudiced assimilation of other values allowing us to find great satisfaction to be here.
May the Royal Celebration also be an occasion to remind us how much we can assist newcomers. Having been given already the opportunity to meet many of you personally, I have felt your eagerness to better integrate, to enrich yourself with what is offered, but also to share and meet the expectations from our hosts. I am sure that these efforts will continue to be gratifying for you, your friends and your families.
May I wish you also happy season's greetings at the beginning of this festive period.
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