President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has urged Canada to re-examine and hopefully remove its restrictions on visits by Taiwan's high-level officials.
Chen made the call while meeting a delegation of Canadian lawmakers at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.
As Taiwan is Canada's seventh-largest source of tourists, Chen said he hoped Ottawa would consider offering visa-free privileges to Taiwanese visitors.
Canada also ranks fourth on the list of favorite countries for advanced study for Taiwanese students. There are about 15,000 Taiwanese studying in Canada, a number that has increased by about 2,500 per year.
Chen said he hoped to sign a mutual assistance pact with the Canadian government to combat terrorism and international crime.
Despite the lack of official diplomatic relations, Chen said he was glad that the delegation was visiting to show their friendship, concern and support for Taiwan.
Chen thanked the Canadian parliament for its staunch support and the Canadian government for its concern for peace, security and stability in the Taiwan Strait, as well as for its concern for the health of the Taiwanese people.
The Canadian parliament has passed six resolutions over the past four years in support of Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Assembly as an observer. Canadian Minister of Health Tony Clement spoke in favor of Taiwan's meaningful participation in the WHO after the voting process on May 14.
Ottawa has also expressed strong opposition to China's "Anti-Secession" Law.
As Taiwan enjoyed a US$2.2 billion trade surplus with Canada, the president said he was glad his administration has worked to balance the figures, including conditionally lifting the ban on imports of Canadian beef.
Chen said the decision was based on professional opinions and scientific appraisal. Taiwan is the fifth largest market for Canadian beef. Several Asian markets, including China, Japan and Taiwan, banned Canadian beef after a mad cow case surfaced in Canada in May 2003.
Chen said he would like to see the two countries work for better trade ties and economic cooperation based on the foundation of bilateral trade relations. Taiwan is Canada's 11th biggest trade partner in the world and the 4th in Asia. Bilateral trade was recorded at US$4.6 billion last year.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS