Malawian Ambassador to Taiwan Thengo Maloya yesterday reassured Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) that his country had no intention of switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China.
"It's a media report. The media can say anything ... The relationship between Taiwan and Malawi is stable, and I think it's stronger," the ambassador said when approached by the media at the ministry for a comment on recent reports.
Maloya was summoned to talks with Huang yesterday morning, the second time after a story published on Friday by the Nyasa Times, an online newspaper in Malawi, saying that Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika had sanctioned severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.
Maloya told the media yesterday that "there is no change" in the relationship between Taiwan and Malawi and that he "will be the first to know" if there were.
Asked if Taiwan should have faith in the relationship, Maloya said: "Of course."
A high-level official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who requested not to be named, said Huang had met Maloya to discuss the matter on Saturday night.
"Maloya told us [yesterday] that he had talked with his president on two occasions over the phone last weekend and that his president had denied a plan to change diplomatic relations," the official said.
The Nyasa Times said that two of Mutharika's senior Cabinet ministers, accompanied by two senior officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, were to leave for Beijing to sign a Memorandum of Understanding paving the way for full diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Maloya said he was not sure if the two senior ministers were planning to go to Beijing, but he knew for sure that they had not been instructed by Mutharika to do so," the official said.
The official said that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆), who was recently sent to Malawi to deal with the situation, had met Mutharika and obtained the same response given the ministry by the ambassador.
Asked by reporters to assess Taiwan's relationship with Malawi, the officials said: "We can't doubt the promise [Maloya] has given us."
"We will remain vigilant on this matter. Whether the two senior Cabinet ministers will make their visit to China is an indicator [of future developments], but Malawian Cabinet ministers have visited China in the past," the official said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS