Taiwan's representative office in the tiny Southeast Asian country of Brunei has been closed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday, citing sluggish bilateral ties as the main concern which has made maintaining the diplomatic office in Brunei counter-effective.
"Brunei has been abiding by the `one China' principle, and ever since Brunei and Taiwan began setting up representative offices, Brunei has been shirking the promotion of bilateral ties," the ministry said in a media release.
"Two-way exchanges on trade, agriculture, fishing, tourism and foreign affairs have been limited. The bilateral visits between officials of the two governments have long been stalled. Brunei's relationship with Taiwan is far less close than Taipei's ties with other Southeast Asian nations," the statement said.
The Brunei office is the second overseas representative office to be shut down, following the closure of the Belarus office in January.
The foreign affairs ministry said that the closure of the representative office in Brunei was part of a series of downsizing plans for overseas representative offices aimed at making the best possible use of diplomatic resources. This is in line with a new policy by Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) to streamline the country's overseas representative offices.
Testifying in the legislature last week, Huang also proposed closing the representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa.
A ministry official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, yesterday said that Brunei's relevance in international affairs has not been significant, and it has not been able to take up any important role in commanding regional politics, particularly in relation to enhancing Taiwan's participation in the international community.
"Brunei's regional policy is embedded within ASEAN, and it seldom expresses its own ideas on regional and international affairs," the official said.
According to the CIA World Fact Book Web site, Brunei's government is a constitutional sultanate. The country has an area of 5,770km2, one-sixth the size of Taiwan, with a population of about 300,000. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the developing world.
The foreign affairs official said that Brunei had a heavy-handed government policy, although it has been very conservative in its foreign policy.
Taiwan established a trade mission in Brunei under the name of a private consortium in 1978, although the trade mission was only formally endorsed as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam in 1996.
In a statement on its Web site, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the mission in Kuala Lumpur, would now represent Taiwanese interests in Brunei.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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