The Marshall Islands and Taiwan will enjoy a strong friendship for many decades to come, the leader of the Pacific island country said on Tuesday, touting the close relationship between the nations since the establishment of diplomatic ties 10 years ago.
Marshal Islands President Litokwa Tomeing, visiting Taiwan for the first time as the president, affirmed that Taiwan-Marshall Islands relations remain firm.
"Taiwan has made many valuable and practical contributions to the people of the Marshall Islands. The relations between the two nations will only grow stronger for the next decade or more," he said in an interview with the Taipei Times.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN HUEI, TAIWAN TIMES
Ties were called in question late last year when Tomeing won the seat after staunch pro-China rhetoric during his campaign.
The former speaker was quoted last November as saying the Marshall Islands had "wronged China" by recognizing Taiwan in 1998 and that he planned to adopt a "one China" policy once in office.
Taiwan quickly reacted by accusing Beijing of injecting large sums of money to sway the election.
But so far both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Majuro have stressed that relations between the two countries are stable.
The relationship was further buttressed in January when Vice President Annette Lu (
Since establishing relations with the country in 1998, Taiwan has become Majuro's second largest donor -- behind the US -- by providing an annual financial package of US$10 million.
Taiwan also provides humanitarian assistance in the form of medical and agricultural missions.
When asked how he plans to strike a balance between the pro-China and pro-Taiwan voices in his government, he simply said that the Marshall Islands has an "open-door policy" to welcome all those who seek the country's friendship.
"The country has no enemies," Tomeing said.
He added that he believes cross-strait problems should remain solely between Taiwan and China.
"We support Taiwan because it is a democratic country. The Republic of the Marshall Islands government has confidence that the two countries will reach a mutual understanding," he said, adding that "only time can tell" when and how the issue will be resolved.
Tomeing said he believed that Taiwan could increase its pool of friends in the Pacific by continuing to display its goodwill.
"So long as Taiwan continues to demonstrate its strength in terms of goodwill toward Pacific allies, the world will see its friendly gesture," he said.
"Eventually, the nations that are not in Taiwan's corner will see the advantage of recognizing Taiwan as an independent country," he said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS