The Presidential Office yesterday said that People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) is to represent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at this year’s APEC leaders’ summit.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference in Taipei, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said Tsai chose Soong as her special envoy to the summit in Peru next month because of his exceptional knowledge about international affairs and Taiwan’s political and economic situations.
“Tsai believes that with Soong’s abundant knowledge, seasoned experience and strong personal network, he will undoubtedly be able to demonstrate the nation’s all-directional development to the international community, strengthen our influence in APEC and promote interactions with its members,” Huang said.
Photo: CNA
Huang said that Soong, who ran against Tsai in the Jan. 16 presidential election, will be accompanied by his daughter to the APEC summit.
Since Taiwan became a full member of APEC in 1991, it has supported various initiatives and programs proposed by the economic forum, including donating US$500,000 to the APEC Support Fund on Aug. 25, Huang said.
“The nation will continue to actively participate in the forum while endeavoring to deepen its cooperation and interactions with APEC members and serve as an innovator, sharer and service provider in regional economic and trading development,” Huang said.
Due to China’s oppression and obstruction, Taiwanese presidents have followed the practice of sending special envoys to the meeting instead of attending it in person.
PFP Culture and Publicity Department director Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that Soong is willing to help the government with anything that is conducive to national development and cross-strait peace.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
RSS