Relations between Taiwan and St. Kitts and Nevis remain strong despite a delay in the sending of a congratulatory note to president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), an official for the Caribbean island country said yesterday.
Kittian charge d’affaire to Taiwan Jasmine Huggins told the Central News Agency that Taiwan-St. Kitts ties remain firm and there was no reason to suspect any otherwise.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also echoed Huggins’ views, saying that Taiwan and St. Kitts enjoy a very healthy and close relationship and that all bilateral projects between the two countries are progressing as scheduled.
It was reported that the charge d’ affaire had to return home on the same day as the election because of a family emergency.
The rumor of shaky ties between the two countries started last week when Vice-President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said in a newspaper interview that the delay in the issuance of congratulatory notes from four of Taiwan’s allies, namely Burkina Faso, San Tome and Principe, Guatemala and St. Kitts and Nevis was a sign of deteriorating relations.
The ministry immediately refuted Lu’s remarks, saying that the nation’s friendships with these countries had not been affected and that the significance behind the delays should not be overly exaggerated.
The Ma camp received a congratulatory note from Basseterre last Friday.
The ministry said that the note was personally written by Kittian Prime Minister Denzil Douglas and said: “Taiwan has long been a faithful and close friend to St. Kitts for nearly 25 years and the government of St. Kitts and Nevis remains firmly committed to the growth of this friendship.”
The note also said the Kittian government hoped the Taiwan-St. Kitts relationship would continue to blossom under the incoming administration to “produce benefits of mutual advantage for both sides.”
Governor-General Sir Cuthbert Montraville Sebastian is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony on May 20, officials said.
Taiwan became the first diplomatic ally of Saint Kitts and Nevis after its independence when the two forged diplomatic ties in 1983. Douglas visited Taiwan in February to attend the opening ceremony of the country’s first embassy in Asia.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS