Taiwan is grateful for the longstanding support St Kitts and Nevis has given Taiwan in its bid to participate in various international organizations, President Chen Shui-bian (
The embassy, located in Tianmu, is the Caribbean country's first and only in Asia. It is also the first embassy to be opened by an ally of Taiwan in the Caribbean.
At the ceremony, Douglas said the establishment of the embassy, was a "historical milestone" that highlights the strong friendship between the government of Taiwan and his country.
PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP
He said that Taiwan had been the first country to forge diplomatic relations with St Christopher and Nevis when it declared independence from Great Britain in 1983.
Over the past 25 years, Douglas said, the two island nations had shared "steady and constructive solidarity," adding that Taiwanese and the government of Taiwan can depend on the Kittitian government for support on matters that are important to Taiwan.
Referring to Taiwan-St Kitts relations as a "meaningful symbiosis," Douglas said Taiwan has also been a solid and supportive friend of the Caribbean country by providing assistance in technical and agricultural training, medical missions and other areas.
Foreign Minister James Huang (黃志芳) congratulated Douglas on his country's first in Asia, saying the embassy would serve as a "bridge strengthening the friendship between the two countries."
Huang also thanked Douglas for remaining a staunch supporter of Taiwan internationally.
"The government of Taiwan appreciates and admires Prime Minister Douglas' courage to protect justice in the world and for his resolve to stand up against powerful countries," Huang said.
The new embassy will also serve as a consular office, where Taiwanese can obtain information on investment and tourism in the Caribbean country.
Taiwanese passport holders can also travel to St Christopher under the visa-free program.
In related news, Huang yesterday appointed R.C. Wu (吳榮泉), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta in the US since 2003, as new ambassador to St Kitts and Nevis.
Wu will replace John Liu (劉振崑), who has served as ambassador in Basseterre for six years, Huang said.
Prior to his assignment in Atlanta, in the 1990s Wu served at the nation's representative offices in Poland and the Dominican Republic, Huang said, adding he was confident Wu would help cement the 25-year relations between Taipei and Basseterre.
Additional reporting by CNA
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
RSS