President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) expressed gratitude to South Pacific ally Tuvalu yesterday for standing firm in support of Taiwan in the face of China's intimidation and economic promises.
Chen made the remarks while receiving Prime Minister Maatia Toafa and his wife at the Presidential Office yesterday.
Stating that China's enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law was an insult to international justice and had aroused unnecessary tension across the Taiwan Strait, Chen took the opportunity yesterday to express thanks to Toafa for his country's issuing a statement condemning Beijing for the law.
Chen also thanked Toafa for having voiced support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN at last September's UN General Assembly and for the consistent support shown by Tuvaluan health officials for Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO) at the annual World Health Assembly.
Recalling his visit to Tuvalu earlier this month, Chen said he was glad to know that Taiwan had been able to provide timely assistance to the Pacific island nation in terms of infrastructure and providing scholarships.
Chen, who was the first president from Taiwan to visit Tuvalu, said that he looked forward to closer fishery cooperation between the two countries.
"Despite its limited land space, Tuvalu has immense exclusive economic waters, rich in marine resources," he said. "Taiwan, with its advanced deep-sea fishing technology, should strengthen fishery cooperation with Tuvalu."
He said the number of scholarships for Tuvaluans was raised from two last year to three this year and "that it is expected by next year [the quota] could be raised to five."
In response, Toafa spoke of Taiwan as "Tuvalu's good friend," and thanked it for its help in various cooperative projects in the fields of medicine and education. He said Tuvalu will continue to support Taiwan's bid to take part in regional and international organizations.
In other developments, Chen received another delegation later yesterday led by a bishop of the United Methodist Church, Reverend Roy Sano.
He told the Methodist delegation that Taiwan -- as opposed to China -- is a lover of world peace and a defender of the international order.
"China, which has long wanted to resolve the cross-strait dispute by non-peaceful means, is after all the true troublemaker and provocateur to the world peace," he said.
"Taiwan's people will stand on the side of universal values," Chen said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS