US President George W. Bush yesterday sent condolences to Soong Mayling's (宋美齡) family, praising the former first lady for her "intelligence" and "strength of character," and calling her a close friend of the US.
Bush's message came four days after the 105-year-old Soong, also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, died in her New York home.
His statement said that he and his wife "were saddened to learn of the death of Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Madame Chiang was a close friend of the United States throughout her life and especially during the defining struggles of the last century."
"Generations of Americans will always remember and respect her intelligence and strength of character," he said.
Meanwhile, Premier Yu Shyi-kun paid his respects to Soong yesterday at a temporary memorial set up at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.
Yu bowed three times to a picture of Soong.
He said he was paying homage to the late first lady on behalf of the Executive Yuan. He also extended his condolences to her family.
In related news, a task force was formed yesterday by "pan-blue" parties and the National Women's League of the Republic of China to handle Soong's funeral arrangements. The league was founded by Soong in 1950 in Taipei.
Chang Che-chen (
People First Party (PFP) Chair-man James Soong (
The task force met yesterday at the KMT's headquarters and decided to send a delegation to New York to attend Soong's memorial service and to hold of symposium in her memory, Chang said.
"Further details on related funeral arrangements will be decided in consultation with Madame Chiang's family," Chang said.
SPEEDING ELETRIC VEHICLES: Available without license requirements, the low-cost vehicles, especially if illicitly modified, can often reach a dangerous speed The government should crack down on illegal electric bicycles and scooters, the non-profit Consumers’ Foundation said on Friday, citing research on the potentially dangerous speed of the vehicles. Electric bicycles and lightweight electric scooters have gained popularity as they do not require registration and riders do not need licenses, the foundation said, adding that as many as 40 percent of them can reach speeds exceeding the legal limit of 25kph for non-licensed two-wheelers. Some consumers also purchased legal electric vehicles and modified them to reach higher speeds, it said. “If the government does not step up efforts to confiscate these
‘RELIABLE PARTNER’: US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar praised the ‘Taiwan model,’ saying that the nation brought its spirit to its COVID-19 response The first memorandum of understanding (MOU) on health cooperation between the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the US Department of Health and Human Services was yesterday signed at the Centers for Disease Control in Taipei. The memorandum was signed between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, by AIT Director Brent Christensen and Taiwan Council for US Affairs Chairperson Jen-ni Yang (楊珍妮). US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) witnessed the signing of the memorandum, designed to enhance the nations’
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday tweeted a welcome to Somaliland’s first representative to Taiwan, Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud, who arrived on Friday. Mohamoud had “braved Chinese pressure” to take up his new post, Wu wrote. “The fact ‘sovereignty & friendship aren’t for sale’ deserves international recognition,” referring to a Somaliland media report earlier this month that Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi had rejected an offer by the Chinese government in exchange for ending its rapprochement with Taiwan. Wu also thanked the US National Security Council (NSC) for praising Taiwan-Somaliland ties. A council tweet on July 10 praised Taiwan
The Taipei City Government yesterday said that construction on the long-suspended Taipei Dome can resume immediately, after it approved a request by the project’s main contractor, Farglory Group. In a statement, the Taipei Construction Management Office said that after it on July 16 issued a new building permit, Farglory submitted revised design plans and an application to resume construction, which the office approved on Friday. Construction had been suspended on the dome, near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Xinyi District (信義), for more than five years due to disagreements between the city and the company over the safety of some of
RSS