Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) arrived in Belize on Saturday from the Dominican Republic on the second and final leg of a 12-day visit to the Latin American and Caribbean regions that began on Monday last week.
Wu was welcomed at the airport with a military salute and greeted by Belizean Governor-General Sir Colville Young and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington.
He was expected to meet with Taiwanese expatriates yesterday evening and with Young and Belizean Prime Minister Dean Oliver Barrow today.
At a meeting with Taiwanese press following his arrival, Wu said the US has accorded him “full respect and cooperation” to make his transit stops in New York and Los Angeles during his trip.
He attributed this to the rebuilding of trust between Taiwan and the US during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) term.
A day earlier in the Dominican Republic, Wu said Taiwan holds a positive view of the development of trade relations between the Caribbean nation and China.
These relations will not affect ties between Taiwan and the Dominican Republic, Wu said.
Between 2002 and 2008, Taiwan gave US$8 million to help build a vocational training center and plans to offer US$3 million annually for another four years to help upgrade job training in the Caribbean country, according to Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang ( 王如玄), who is accompanying Wu on his tour.
While touring a high-tech science park which was jointly funded by Taiwan and the Caribbean diplomatic ally, Wu said he was impressed by the country’s technological advances and its commitment to the development of the high-tech sector.
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