Several permanent representatives to the UN of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies arrived in Taiwan yesterday at the start of a six-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
The delegation comprises permanent representatives to the UN Lois Michele Young of Belize, Aunese Makoi Simati of Tuvalu and his wife, Carlos Enrique Garcia Gonzalez of El Salvador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Jose Blanco of the Dominican Republic. The diplomats were invited by the government, the ministry said.
“The four visiting ambassadors have considerable diplomatic experience, are acquainted with the UN and have been friendly toward the ROC [Republic of China]. Their countries have lent strong support to increased ROC participation in the international arena and helped promote Taiwan’s bids to participate in UN specialized agencies,” the ministry said.
The ministry said the delegation would offer advice and exchange views on the government’s endeavors to secure meaningful participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as on approaches to enhancing interaction between Taiwan and the UN.
The ambassadors will meet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂), Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) and Minister of Environmental Protection Stephen Shen (沈世宏), the ministry said.
They will also tour the International Cooperation and Development Fund, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the National Palace Museum, Kaohsiung Harbor and the fishery museum in Pingtung County, the ministry said.
China appears to have built mockups of a port in northeastern Taiwan and a military vessel docked there, with the aim of using them as targets to test its ballistic missiles, a retired naval officer said yesterday. Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), a former lieutenant commander in Taiwan’s navy, wrote on Facebook that satellite images appeared to show simulated targets in a desert in China’s Xinjiang region that resemble the Suao naval base in Yilan County and a Kidd-class destroyer that usually docks there. Lu said he compared the mockup port to US naval bases in Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, and in Subic Bay
Police are investigating the death of a Formosan black bear discovered on Tuesday buried near an industrial road in Nantou County, with initial evidence indicating that it was shot accidentally by a hunter. The bear had been caught in wildlife traps at least five times before, three times since 2020. Codenamed No. 711, the bear received extensive media coverage last year after it was discovered trapped twice in less than two months in the Taichung mountains. After its most recent ensnarement last month, the bear was released in the Dandashan (丹大山) area in Nantou County’s Sinyi Township (信義). However, officials became concerned after the
The majority of parents surveyed in northern Taiwan favor the suspension of all on-site classes at schools from the junior-high level and below amid a surge in domestic COVID-19 infections, parent groups said yesterday. About 84.4 percent of respondents in a survey of 2,912 parents in northern Taiwan, where the outbreak is the most serious, said they supported suspending classes, the Action Alliance on Basic Education, the Taiwan Parents Protect Women and Children Association, and the Taiwan Love Children Association said. The groups distributed questionnaires to parents in New Taipei City, Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan and Hsinchu city and county from Saturday morning
DETERRENCE: US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said cross-strait affairs are on the agenda at the US-ASEAN Special Leaders’ Summit The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the Czech Senate for passing a resolution supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHO and other international organizations for the second consecutive year. The resolution was passed on Wednesday with 51 votes in favor, one opposed and 11 abstentions. In addition to the WHO, it also called for Taiwan’s participation in the “meetings, mechanisms and activities” of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol. In its opening, the resolution states that the Czech Republic “considers Taiwan as one of its key partners in the Indo-Pacific region,” while noting its