Former Thai minister of foreign affairs Kasit Piromya yesterday urged Taiwan to enhance its cooperation with ASEAN nations on civic and political education by sharing its knowledge of democratization.
In his keynote speech yesterday on the first day of a two-day conference on Southeast Asian studies held at the National Chengchi University, Kasit said Taiwan could share with Southeast Asian nations the success of its democratic transformation.
“People in general want and love freedom. That is the starting point for Taiwan to get out into the world,” Kasit said, adding that the nation should work with Southeast Asian nations that have either become democratic or are in a transition and share its experiences and best practices.
Kasit said Taipei should endeavor to convince nations in the region that pluralism and openness are a better way, while demonstrating the importance of inclusivity, dignity and distributive prosperity.
“Taiwan should not be shy to share with others its achievements,” Kasit added.
Asked what advice he would give President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding her “new southbound policy,” Kasit said that Tsai should put an emphasis on civic and political education, as well as enhancing knowledge about democratic practices.
“Since your president is moving south in a more comprehensive manner, you have priorities, whether you put the emphasis on education, culture or people or so on. My point is that Taiwan has been successful as a democratic nation, why not compete with China on this political thing?” Kasit said.
Thailand has encountered difficulties in its long-standing quest for openness and democracy, Kasit said, adding that he hopes Taiwan could join hands with Thailand and help it overcome some of the difficulties.
“Then I think we could become a full-fledged democratic polity,” Kasit said.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths