Menno Goedhart, a former representative of the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office, recently said he was planning to cooperate with Dutch travel agencies to promote tourism to Taiwan.
“I will put all of my efforts to promote Taiwan,” said Goedhart, who was honored as a Taiwan cultural goodwill ambassador by the government last year for his contributions to -Taiwan-Netherlands relations.
Over the years, Goedhart, who was posted to Taiwan in 2002, has visited almost every corner of Taiwan — including some areas that are unfamiliar to many Taiwanese — to trace the footprints of his Dutch ancestors who colonized Taiwan from 1524 to 1662.
Unlike most other diplomats who return to their home countries after retirement, Goedhart chose to remain in Taiwan after he retired in 2010.
That year, he published a book titled The Real Taiwan and the Dutch: Traveling Notes from the Netherlands Representative in Chinese and English, featuring many of Taiwan’s most scenic areas and the Aboriginal tribes around the country.
He also set up a research center for Dutch heritage study last year at National Cheng Kung University in Greater Tainan.
Goedhart said he was fascinated by Taiwan’s different cultures and lifestyles, especially the Aboriginal tribes.
Taiwanese Aboriginal groups are very creative and excel in the arts, such as painting, singing and sculpture, Goedhart said, adding that he was collecting samples of Siraya music and plans to release an album by the end of this year.
Goedhart said he hoped the album would be nominated for the Aboriginal music awards next year, so more people could become aware of Taiwan’s Aboriginal music.
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
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
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