The government is contemplating setting up direct charter flights with Mongolia to promote tourism and trade relations, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.
“Both sides are keen to develop closer exchanges and boost tourism. We are currently in talks on possible charter flights, which would benefit tourists from both sides if the deal goes through,” said Lin Jinn-jong (林進忠), the director-general of the ministry’s Department of West Asian Affairs.
The direct charters would lower airfares from the current US$1,000 to about US$500, Lin said.
At present, visitors must enter Mongolia via third countries, such as South Korea and China.
About 2,000 Taiwanese visit Mongolia annually, Lin said. Charter flights would not only benefit tourists but also 400 Mongolian students in Taiwan.
Lin said that although bilateral trade is small, the US$8.02 million in trade in the first half of the year represented a 207 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
Taiwan is Mongolia’s 15th largest trade partner.
Taiwanese companies invested US$19.65 million there last year.
Taiwan does not have official diplomatic ties with Mongolia, which declared independence from the Qing empire in 1911, the year that the Qing Dynasty fell.
However, Mongolia is intent on improving its economy through tourism and attracting investment from abroad, including Taiwan, Lin said.
That was why the charter flight issue was raised during the Ninth Taiwan-Mongolia Joint Economic Meeting, which was held in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator on Sept. 9, he said.
More than 100 participants from the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association and its counterpart, the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS