With a huge ice sculpture of the Kremlin as a party centerpiece, hundreds of well-wishers gathered in Taipei to wish Russia a happy birthday and toast Russia-Taiwan ties last Thursday on the eve of Russian National Day.
Although Taiwan and Russia do not have formal diplomatic relations, they have forged strong cultural and commercial ties, with trade volume reaching a record US$4 billion last year, said Sergey Gubarev, the head of the Representative Office for the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation.
The commission was established in 1992, one year after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
Gubarev, who has been posted to Taipei for three-and-a-half years, said he has never encountered a “cold attitude” in all his interactions with Taiwanese officials and that mutual efforts will strengthen bilateral cooperation.
In addition to fruitful business relations, Taiwan and Russia have developed active and frequent cultural and academic exchanges, Gubarev said.
Taiwanese and Russian scientists are engaged in more than 50 joint projects and each year, he said.
Russia welcomes more than 300 Taiwanese students while about 200 Russians study in Taiwan. There are about 1,000 Russians in Taiwan at present.
One Russian student, Alexander Avgust, came to Taiwan on a scholarship almost four years ago. After getting his degree in politics from the Chinese Cultural University, Avgust has decided to stay to work in Taiwan.
“I like Taiwan a lot, especially the weather and the friendliness of the people,” he said.
Gubarev said more than 10,000 Taiwanese visit Russia annually but less than 2,000 Russians come to Taiwan. The main reason for this discrepancy, he said, is the lack of a beach culture in Taiwan.
For many Russians, a vacation means a break from the icy cold weather of their hometowns and so they are more interested in countries with beachfront resorts, he said.
Guests at the reception enjoyed typical Russian cuisine such as borscht and cabbage rolls, along with Russian wine.
Four Russian members of the Kaohsiung Philharmonic Orchestra performed during the reception.
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Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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