Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said on Thursday that the government opposes unilateral moves taken by either side of the Taiwan Strait that could change Taiwan's status, build up cross-strait tension and affect political stability and economic prosperity in East Asia.
Answering a question raised in the Canadian parliament by Don Boudria, a leader of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, who asked Pettigrew whether Canada was taking a similar stance to the US on Beijing's enactment of an "anti-secession" law targeting Taiwan, Pettigrew said that the content of the proposed law is still unknown, but he added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would try to gain further information about the law once it is passed and publicized.
Boudria, who is also chairman of the parliamentarian Taiwan-Canada Friendship Association, said during a question-and-answer session that Washington has recently voiced its opposition to Beijing's enactment of the proposed law, which would provide Beijing with a legal basis to adopt "non-peaceful means" to resolve cross-strait problems if it thinks Taiwan is making moves toward independence.
Meanwhile, Stockwell Day, a spokesman for the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, said that China's expected enactment of the "anti-secession" law reflected Beijing's attempts to invade Taiwan.
Day claimed that Taiwan's "allies," have expressed concern over a democracy being infringed upon by totalitarians, Canada should also render its support to Taiwan.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
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