Dismissing rumors about the reasons for her recent reassignment to Taipei, Representative to Singapore Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said on Saturday that “the truth and the facts” would come out eventually.
Speaking at a farewell party in her honor held in the city-state that day, Shih told her hosts that what she described as “soap-opera-like rumors and speculation” about her would be debunked over time. Shih said she felt blessed and privileged to have contributed to promoting Taiwanese delicacies, agricultural products and the country’s tourism, arts and music in Singapore over the past three years while she served as de facto ambassador to the city-state.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed recently that Shih would be reassigned to the -ministry’s headquarters in Taipei, but it declined to comment on newspaper speculation that she was being recalled due to Singapore being unhappy with her.
The Chinese-language China Times speculated earlier this month, citing anonymous sources, that Shih angered former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) and other high-ranking officials with a series of actions including singing the Republic of China (ROC) national anthem and raising the national flag at a public reception celebrating the ROC centennial, as well as making contact with Chen Show Mao (陳碩茂), a member of the opposition Workers’ Party.
Chen, an immigrant from Taiwan, is a member of Singapore’s parliament, and the meeting garnered the attention of the media, it said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
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