The Presidential Office said yesterday it was too early to tell whether President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would attend the leaders’ summit in Solomon Islands in October.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) said during an interview with Radio Taiwan International on Monday that Ma was likely to attend a summit of leaders of Taiwan and its South Pacific allies in the Solomon Islands in October.
However, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said it was too early to tell whether the trip would proceed.
As for the two trips the ministry is arranging for Ma later this month and in July, Wang said they were just proposals and the one scheduled for July had yet to be finalized.
Ma is scheduled to embark on a 10-day visit to Central America from May 26 through June 4. The main purpose is to attend the June 1 inauguration of El Salvadoran president-elect Mauricio Funes.
The trip will also include a visit to Belize, a diplomatic source said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
Ma would also travel to Guatemala and Belize, the source said.
Another source confirmed the arrangement last week, saying that Ma would go to Belize rather than Honduras as initially planned.
Last Wednesday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted a newspaper report that Ma’s plan to visit Honduras had been called off by Honduran President Mel Zelaya because one of Taiwan’s foreign aid programs there had been suspended.
The ministry is also arranging for Ma to visit Panama in July to attend the inauguration of the country’s next president.
Central and South America and the Caribbean are Taiwan’s diplomatic strongholds, with many of its 23 diplomatic allies located there.
Ma, who met Solomon Islands Prime Minister Derek Sikua at the Presidential Office yesterday, said his administration attached great importance to its Pacific ally and hoped to strengthen bilateral ties.
Ma said Taiwan and the Solomon Islands have enjoyed stable relations and that Taipei would continue its projects there in medical care, agriculture, fishing and education.
Construction of a central hospital in Honiara was also near completion, Ma said.
Meanwhile, Wang said a blog could be launched for Ma, adding that the NT$1.6 million (US$50,000) budget would cover planning, design and salaries salaries.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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