Representative to Singapore Vanessa Shih (史亞平) will return home to be assigned to a new post at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei, an official confirmed yesterday.
This is a “normal personnel change” and the ministry has issued a formal notice to that effect, ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said.
“At present, I have no information on who will replace Shih,” or when she would return, he said.
He did not confirm the reports that Shih was being reassigned because the Singaporean government was dissatisfied with her performance.
Reports have said that Shih was branded a “troublemaker” by Singaporean officials for displaying the Republic of China flag in public, a move that reportedly irked some officials who strictly abide to the city-state’s “one China” policy.
“Taiwan and Singapore have a good relationship,” and Shih has been working for the past three years in Singapore to strengthen bilateral ties, Chang said, adding that after three years, her reassignment was routine.
For example, he said, Taiwan and Singapore have held several rounds of talks on an economic partnership agreement.
The negotiations on the Agreement between Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Partnership have been “going according to schedule,” Chang said.
Shih, a former Government Information Office chief and spokesperson for the Executive Yuan, had also served as one of three of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) spokespersons during the 2008 presidential campaign.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
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