The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday that Taiwan's representative to Brazil Chou Shu-yeh (周叔夜), who has permanent residency in the South American country, tendered his resignation a few days ago.
“Three of the MOFA’s diplomatic representatives have permanent residency in foreign countries. They are the representatives to Japan, Brazil and Bahrain,” ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said at a regular press briefing.
A report in the Chinese-language United Daily News said that an investigation by the Central Personnel Administration found that about 30 of the approximately 1,000 diplomatic officials posted overseas have permanent foreign residency status.
However, that number includes not only ministry personnel, but also public servants posted overseas by other government agencies, Yeh said.
She said the ministry has approximately 650 employees assigned overseas, and none of them hold dual citizenship. Only one political appointee, representative to Switzerland George Liu (劉寬平), has US citizenship, she said.
The report also stated that the Central Personnel Administration will keep a record of public officials who have permanent residency in foreign countries, but would not ask them to renounce their status.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has come under fire from the opposition over the foreign residency issue, with some legislators questioning the loyalty of officials who hold foreign residency status.
The issue came under the spotlight after Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) apologized for obtaining a US green card in 2005 when he was serving as the nation’s ambassador to Guatemala. He said he had officially given up his green card one month before assuming his current position on May 20.
Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers have, however, come to the defense of the former representative to Japan, Koh Se-kai (�?�), arguing that Koh had no choice but to apply for permanent residency in Japan because he was blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government for more than 30 years and stripped of his passport because of his pro-independence remarks.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost