A new diplomat is to be appointed to head the representative office in Singapore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, but it would not comment on a list of possible candidates.
“An announcement will be made after the administrative process is completed,” ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said.
He added that Taiwan was informing the Singaporean government of the personnel change.
One of the names widely mentioned in local media as a possible successor is Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Liang (梁國新), as the two countries are engaged in talks on an economic partnership agreement.
Asked about the return of Vanessa Shih (史亞平), the head of the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore, Chang said it had yet to be settled. He reiterated that the change in personnel is “normal” because Shih has been in Singapore for three years.
“Taiwan and Singapore have always maintained a close and steady relationship,” he said, dismissing media speculation that Shih was being replaced because of Singapore’s dissatisfaction with her.
The Chinese-language daily China Times speculated, citing anonymous sources, that Shih had angered former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) and other senior officials with a series of actions, including singing the Republic of China’s (ROC) national anthem and hanging the ROC flag at a public reception celebrating the ROC’s centennial, and making contact with Chen Show Mao (陳碩茂), a member of Singapore’s opposition Workers’ Party, before the city-state’s general election, the paper said.
Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant, had won a seat in Singapore’s parliament and was one of the few Singaporean politicians with a Taiwanese background, intensifying the media’s attention, it said.
Singapore and Taiwan do not have official diplomatic relations and while Taiwan maintains strong trade relations with the city-state, political issues remain sensitive.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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