Both Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers expressed goodwill toward President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who left on a trip to the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu early yesterday morning.
In response to critics who say that Chen has spent too much money visiting foreign countries since he took office in 2000, DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
"Think about it, how many countries in the world would welcome our president as a president? It is extremely difficult for Taiwan to survive in the world today and that means we should work harder to step out," Hsiao said.
"I think we should salute and send our best regards to the president for what he is doing," she said.
Given that China is continuously working to lure away Taiwan's allies to establish relations with Beijing, Hsiao said that it takes work and effort to maintain diplomatic relations with foreign countries.
In addition, while some have said Chen is traveling to foreign countries now to divert media attention from KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (
"It is the president's job to maintain friendly ties with foreign countries. He definitely needs to find some time to do this [take trips]," she said.
Hsiao encouraged the public to support the president since the trip would not be easy.
"There are no five-star hotels in those places. They do not even have running water. But the president insists on going to do something for the country. We should wish him good luck instead of cursing him," Hsiao said.
In addition to Hsiao's comments, KMT Lawmaker Su Chi (
Su is currently accompanying Lien in Xian.
Commenting on speculation that Chen's trip is aimed at countering Lien's and Soong's China visits, he said the trips to China have nothing to do with the president's trip to solidify Taiwan's foreign ties.
"Visiting our friends regularly is a must-do," he said when approached by the Taipei Times on Saturday night.
Su said that he had no idea when the Presidential Office had begun planning the trip to the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu, but he believed that the president was not using the trip to get himself on the front page of newspapers for political purposes.
According to Su, Lien's trip was scheduled and confirmed when KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai