Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) yesterday reaffirmed that the nation’s ties with El Salvador remained firm after left-wing Salvadoran president-elect Mauricio Funes ended two decades of conservative rule in a historic election on Sunday.
Ou reassured Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) during a legislative question-and-answer session that Taiwan’s consulate officials in El Salvador had been working to build relations with Funes’ aides since the charismatic former TV journalist launched his presidential bid.
The minister said Taiwanese officials had provided Funes’ office with information that would help the president-elect gain a better understanding of the collaboration between the two nations.
Ou said he believed Funes had come to understand the importance of Taiwan’s collaborative projects with El Salvador.
He was responding to Chou’s concerns that El Salvador might consider switching recognition to China, as Funes had previously expressed interest in building ties with Beijing.
Funes, leader of the former rebel movement Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), overturned almost 20 years of rightwing rule in El Salvador with 51.3 percent of the vote after more than 99.4 percent of ballots were counted late on Sunday. He defeated Rodrigo Avila of the ruling conservative Arena party.
Asked if Taiwan and the Latin American country had reached any consensus regarding their diplomatic ties, Ou said that, in a speech after the election, Funes only mentioned wanting to strengthen ties with the US.
Funes has not publicly expressed any new stance on Taiwan, the minister said.
Ou added that the ministry was planning for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to attend Funes’ inauguration.
Ma could visit El Salvador on June 1 and attend the inauguration of the next Panamanian president on July 1, Ou said.
Panama is also one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said at the question-and-answer session that the government would “closely monitor” the situation in El Salvador and prepare for all possible scenarios.
The ministry presented Ma’s congratulations to Funes soon after his election, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Speaking at a separate event, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said Paraguayan President Fernandez Lugo had accepted an invitation to visit Taiwan later this year.
Ou had personally extended the invitation to Lugo during the foreign minister’s trip to Latin American last week.
Lugo, a former Catholic priest who was elected in April, said during the Paraguayan presidential campaign that he would consider establishing ties with Beijing if elected.
The ministry has on several occasions sought to dispel suspicions of shaky ties with Paraguay by saying that Lugo was not able to visit Taiwan because he was too busy dealing with domestic matters.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU AND MO YAN-CHIH, WITH AGENCIES
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS