Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Thursday that Gambia was worthy of its name as "Africa's smiling coast" because its people are so ready to smile and show goodwill and hospitality.
Su said he had immediately gotten that impression upon his arrival in Banjul, the capital of Gambia, to attend the inauguration of re-elected Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Su and his entourage received a warm welcome from Gambian Vice President Isatou N'jie-Saidy and many other senior officials and ordinary citizens at Banjul's international airport.
The official welcome ceremony included a number of dazzling song and dance performances. Su said he felt honored to receive a welcome with such great pomp and splendor.
Su said that on his way to his hotel, many Gambian people waved to him.
"I'm impressed by the Gambian people's radiant smiles and kindness," Su told a group of Taiwanese reporters covering his trip.
This is Su's first overseas trip since he assumed the premiership in January.
Brief rest
After a brief rest at his hotel, Su the paid a visit to the embassy in Banjul, where he donated US$35,000 to Gambia for use in AIDS prevention efforts.
Gambia's health minister accepted the donation on behalf of his country.
Ambassador to Gambia Chang Pei-chi (張北齊) told Su that relations between the two countries have been firm and cordial since they resumed diplomatic ties in 1995.
Top leaders of the countries have exchanged visits frequently.
President Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) have also paid visits to Gambia in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
Gambian President Jammeh vehemently supports Taiwan and bans Gambian officials from having any political contacts with their Chinese counterparts, Chang said.
Noting that Jammeh expects his country to realize the goal of food self-sufficiency by 2015 and become the "Silicon Valley of Africa" by 2020, Chang said that the Embassy exhorts Taiwanese entrepreneurs to invest in Gambia -- particularly in its telecommunications industry -- to help invigorate its economy and shore up bilateral relations.
Tsai Chun-hsiung (蔡俊雄), head of Taiwan's technical mission stationed in Gambia, said the mission had built tidal irrigation systems in the SAPU riverside region for rice plantation.
"We have successfully developed 1,000 hectares of rice paddies in the area, contributing much to Gambia's rice production," he added.
In addition to transferring farming know-how, Tsai said the technical mission was also endeavoring to spread information about sustainable development in Gambia and help with the formation of farmers' associations to facilitate agricultural processing and marketing.
Future projects
The cooperation projects would expand to aquaculture and digital technology development in the future, he added.
For his part, Su lauded embassy staff and technical mission members for their efforts in relaying the Taiwan people's goodwill, developmental experience and expertise to Gambians.
"Your dedication has helped cement our friendship with our African ally," Su added.
In the evening, Su and his entourage attended a state dinner hosted by Jammeh at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.
En route to Banjul, Su and his entourage made a one-hour stop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for refueling of their chartered plane.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods