Singapore has sent a special envoy to Taipei to deliver an invitation to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to attend this year’s leadership meeting of the APEC forum, political sources said on Monday.
The Singaporean envoy visited Taipei two weeks ago and is expected to visit again to learn who will represent Taiwan at the APEC summit scheduled for Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 in the city-state.
Because of China’s opposition, Taiwan’s president has traditionally been barred from attending the annual APEC summit and has had to name a proxy to attend on his behalf. Presenting the invitation to the president is considered a mere formality.
Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) attended last year’s APEC summit in Peru on Ma’s behalf. He was the most senior former official to ever attend an APEC summit as the president’s envoy.
It will not be easy for Ma to name an envoy with stature higher than Lien to attend this year’s APEC meeting, one official said.
Pundits said the choice of this year’s representative at the APEC summit would be seen as a litmus test for cross-strait relations and represents a chance to strengthen Taiwan-US relations at a high level because Taiwan’s envoy will have the opportunity to meet US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
An official close to Ma, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was still too early to talk about who will serve as his envoy.
“Many elements should be factored in, including delicate changes in cross-strait ties, the operation of the new Cabinet to be formed in early September and Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] operations after Ma becomes party chairman in October,” the official said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS