President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) telephoned new Nauru President Marcus Stephen and new Solomon Islands Prime Minister Derek Sikua on Thursday to congratulate them on their election victories, a Presidential Office news release said.
The press statement said Chen invited the new leaders of the nation's two South Pacific diplomatic allies to visit Taiwan in the near future to exchange views on matters of mutual interest, including measures to expand bilateral cooperation.
The statement said Chen assured both the Nauruan president and the Solomon Islands' prime minister that his administration would continue various cooperative projects with the countries.
He also called for continued support from the two countries for the nation's bid to join major international organizations, including the UN.
Stephen told Chen that he values his country's ties with Taiwan and would work to increase cooperation in various fields. Stephen also expressed his gratitude for the nation's longtime support and aid to his country, the Presidential Office statement said.
Meanwhile, Sikua expressed hope that Chen would either attend in person or name a special envoy to attend celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the founding of his country, scheduled to be held on Jan. 31.
Sikua also told Chen that the Solomon Islands would like to host the 2009 Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit and that he would do his utmost to help Taiwan join the UN and the WHO.
The third Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit is scheduled to take place in Kaohsiung next year.
Chen invited Sikua and Stephen to attend the meeting and expressed his hope that Taiwan and the Solomon Islands would wrap up talks on a free trade agreement as soon as possible and ink the deal.
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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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