President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) told US Representative James Sensenbrenner Jr on Wednesday that Taiwan hopes the US Congress will support its efforts to join international organizations and sign a bilateral extradition agreement with the US.
Sensenbrenner, accompanied by his wife, is on a weeklong visit to Taipei that began on Tuesday.
Receiving the couple at the Presidential Office, Ma said progress in cross-strait relations is closely related to the development of US-Taiwan relations, citing the significance of US military sales to Taiwan’s security and talks with China.
As Taiwan is seeking more international participation, the president asked Sensenbrenner for his support in helping realize the aspiration of Taiwan’s people to participate in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Aviation Organization (IAO) and other international organizations.
Referring to Ma’s expectations to sign an extradition agreement and a reciprocal visa-free agreement with the US, Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin, said more discussion is needed before such agreements can be signed.
Meanwhile, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) is in South Korea on a four-day visit at the invitation of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) to attend an international leadership conference yesterday and today.
Lu and her entourage arrived in Seoul on Tuesday.
REVEREND MOON
She said upon her arrival that during her stay, she would give a brief speech at the opening ceremony of the leadership conference today and attend a banquet in celebration of the 90th birthday of UPF founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
Before departing for the US tomorrow evening, Lu will also meet with South Korean politicians and civic leaders on human rights issues.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai