The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has finally filled the vacancy for Taiwan's representative in Israel, announcing that senior diplomat Ting Gan-cheng (
The ministry had not appointed a replacement mission chief following the retirement of former representative to Israel, Teng Shen-sheng (
Michael Huang (
However, it has been alleged that this subsequently fell through as a result of Huang's involvement in the case of former US State Department official Donald Keyser's betrayal of state secrets.
The ministry denied this speculation and said that the delayed announcement of the new representative to Israel was because of Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
Ting has been serving as deputy secretary-general of the ministry's Coordination Council for North American Affairs and has served in the Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs.
Ting earned a master's degree in law at Soochow University specializing in international law and subsequently worked in the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv for six years.
Meanwhile, John Chen (陳忠), director-general of the Department of International Organizations, will be sent to New Zealand to serve as Taiwan's representative there.
This follows speculation that former deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council Parris Chang (張旭成) was originally the first-choice candidate for the position but that Chang was nixed by New Zealand.
In June, former representative to New Zealand Victor Chin (秦日新) was demoted to the post of consultant at the country's trade mission in Fiji due to his alleged involvement in embezzling official funds.
Also, Lo Koon-tsan (羅坤燦), executive director of ministry's Committee on Japanese Affairs, was appointed as the second deputy representative to Japan to join Chen Hung-chi (陳鴻基), Taiwan's deputy representative.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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