A Taiwanese mission representing the country’s high-tech sector concluded a trade promotion road show to Nicaragua last week, winning the hearts and souls of Nicaraguan officials, academics and businesspeople.
The delegation, traveling with the aim of finding new markets for Taiwan’s technology products in Latin America, completed a 40-hour whirlwind road show in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, where a Taiwan-Nicaragua business cooperation conference took place. The delegation shared Taiwan’s digital development experience and displayed IT products.
The delegation consisted of executives of the Taipei-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA), the New Taipei City Computer Association, the Institute for Information Industry and representatives of 15 technology companies.
Within three hours, 10 Taiwanese IT companies completed 60 rounds of business talks with Nicaraguan buyers, receiving nearly US$200,000 in orders. The talks also led to over US$1 million in business opportunities for Taiwanese suppliers over the next year.
Taiwanese Ambassador to Nicaragua Ingrid Hsing (邢瀛輝) addressed the opening of the conference.
Hsing said: “Thanks to a Taiwan-Nicaragua free-trade accord, Taiwan had become Nicaragua’s top export market in Asia,” while more than 30 Taiwanese enterprises have invested in Nicaragua, creating about 7,000 job opportunities.
CIECA chairman Wang Chung-yu (王鍾渝), who led the delegation, said Taiwan’s high-tech industry, which is one of the world’s key players in the sector, is more than qualified to help with Nicaragua’s computerization, which will in turn narrow the gap between rich and poor, helping to accelerate Nicaragua’s economic development.
Nicaraguan Industry and Commerce Minister Orlando Solorzano said Taiwan was one of Nicaragua’s best business partners in the world.
He called for Taiwanese solar panel, motorcycle assembly and other industrial manufacturing companies to take advantage of Nicaragua’s inexpensive labor costs, free-trade privileges and geological convenience to boost their exports from Nicaragua to other Latin American markets.
Jose Adan Aguerri, chairman of Nicaragua’s Superior Council of Private Enterprises, urged the Nicaraguan government to emulate the “Taiwan experience” of nurturing science and technology manpower to help the country lift its people out of poverty.
The road show attracted 150 visitors, including Nicaraguan trade and investment officials, business leaders and academics from 15 Nicaraguan universities and colleges.
The “Taiwan digital whirlwind” was covered by 20 print and electronic media outlets in the Central American country.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”