Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) of the DPP was elected president of the ROC-US Parliamentary Amity Association Wednesday, a group comprising 120 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties.
The association elected Chai to succeed Shih Ming-teh (施明德), who lost his re-election bid in the Dec. 1, 2001 legislative elections.
At the meeting in which the elections were held, association members also adopted a resolution allowing the three main opposition parties -- the KMT, the People First Party (PFP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) -- to recommend one of its legislators as new vice president of the association.
The TSU recommended Legislator at Large Wu Tung-sheng (
In addition, Hsiao Bi-khim (
Following his election, Chai said that he will do all that he can to increase official exchanges between Taiwan and the US.
Chai said that he is scheduled to lead a delegation on April 10 to attend an inauguration ceremony of the US-ROC Parliamentary Amity Association set up by the US House of Representatives.
Chai, a promoter of the establishment of the Formosan Association of Public Affairs in the US, voiced the hope that the formation of the two associations will help boost substantive relations between Taipei and Washington.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
Central and southern Taiwan are to see increasingly heavy rainfall from last night through Friday due to the effects of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said Tropical Storm Co-May had weakened into a low-pressure system on Saturday, but that it strengthened again into a tropical depression (TD 11) near the seas around Japan's Ryukyu Islands due to favorable environmental conditions. The tropical depression is expected to persist for two to three days, moving west-northwest by this afternoon and reaching China's Zhejiang through the East China Sea tomorrow,