Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) yesterday said he would propose a resolution today urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help a Taiwanese-American held captive in North Korea.
Huang said Taiwan must do something to show its concern for the welfare of its people. Laura Ling (凌志美), a US citizen whose mother is a Taiwanese, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American — journalists from an online news outlet, Current TV — were arrested and detained by North Korean guards when they were filming a story on refugees on the border of North Korea and China on March 17.
According to a Central News Agency report, Ling's mother, Wang Mei-yan, is a native of Tainan and had served as the deputy head of the Formosa Association for Public Affairs office in Los Angeles.
When asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Hsiao Ching-tien (蕭景田) yesterday said he agreed with Huang's proposal because Ling comes from Taiwan. But Hsiao added the KMT caucus had not reached a consensus on whether to take any action to offer assistance to Ling and her family.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs James Chang (章計平) said yesterday that the ministry had sent a letter to the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Relations Office in Washington as well as in Seoul to find out more about the case and discuss how Taiwan could help with the rescue effort.
Huang was still collecting signatures for the petition yesterday. He said he expected to complete the petition today.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS