■ Government
Hsieh confirms new officials
Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday officially introduced incoming Environmental Protection Administration Minister Chang Kow-lung (張國龍) and Council of Hakka Affairs Chairman Lee Yung-te (李永得) to the public. In addition to these Cabinet members, the premier also confirmed that former Taichung City mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹), an independent, will be appointed vice interior minister, and that former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) will be appointed vice minister of the Council of Hakka Affairs.
■ Diplomacy
Allies ask for financial help
The leaders of Tuvalu and Kiribati have asked Taiwan to help pay for the repatriation of workers stranded on Nauru, according to a report by ABC Radio Australia yesterday. The report said hundreds of workers in the phosphate industry from Tuvalu and Kiribati are stuck on Nauru, with some having not been paid for more than a year. The report continued to say Tuvalu's prime minister, Maatia Toafa, had said he has asked the president of Taiwan for US$3.5 million to cover the workers' unpaid wages and other expenses so they can return home.
■ Politics
Lien's wife off to Shanghai
Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀), the wife of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), left Taipei for Shanghai via Hong Kong yesterday to attend the christening ceremony for a vessel. Accompanied by her two daughters, Lien Fang Yu kept a low profile at CKS International Airport. Her two sons joined them in Hong Kong. She has been invited to preside over the christening ceremony for the China Peace, which was commissioned by the Taipei-based Chinese Maritime Transport firm and built at a Shanghai shipyard.
■ Diplomacy
Dalai Lama aide in town
The younger brother of the Dalai Lama is making a low-profile visit to Taiwan, a cable television channel reported yesterday. Tendzin Choegyal, who at age four was recognized as the 15th Ngari Rinpoche, a title passed through reincarnation, is one of the top aides to Tibet's spiritual leader at the Tibetan Buddhism headquarters-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. The Ngari Rinpoche, who was elected to the Tibetan parliament-in-exile where he served until 1995, is in Taipei to attend a ceremony tomorrow at the the Central Police University for a bodyguard detail to the Dalai Lama. The Ngari Rinpoche has kept his visit low-profile and would not meet any officials during his stay, according to the TV report.
■ Diplomacy
Group lobbies for inclusion
A Taiwanese delegation lobbied yesterday for the nation to be included on the agenda at the inaugural East Asia Summit in December despite fears that China may try to block the move. The three-man delegation, headed by Fu-chen Lo (羅福全), chairman of the non-government Association of East Asian Relations in Taiwan, said during a stop in Manila that leaving Taiwan out of a proposed regional trade bloc would create a "missing link." The bloc would comprise the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations plus Japan, China, South Korea and India -- and possibly Australia and New Zealand. Lo said Taipei wants to create awareness among the region's major players that "Taiwan should be considered a very constructive partner."
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
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