Several cities yesterday announced the establishment of public altars for Thai workers and immigrants to mourn the death of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Thursday at the age of 88.
Public altars have been set up in Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Taichung and Tainan.
The altar at the main concourse of the old Taoyuan Railway Station opens today and is to be available to mourners until Oct. 30, while one at Tainan’s Labor Recreation Center is to be open until Friday, officials said, adding that altars at ASEAN Square near Taichung Railway Station and 191 Baotai Rd in Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen District (前鎮) are to be open until Nov. 14
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
Taoyuan has the largest Thai population in the nation, with more than 15,900 Thai migrant workers and more than 2,200 Thai immigrants, said Chang Pei-ling (張珮玲), a section chief at the Taoyuan Department of Labor.
The department has set up the altar because it recognizes the difficulties Thai immigrants and migrant workers face to return to their home country to mourn, Chang said.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) is expected to attend a memorial service at the altar for the late king today.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) called the death of the king a “great sadness” for Thais and urged Taiwanese to make sure their Thai friends know about the public altar in Kaohsiung.
“I hope that the memories and historical emotions of all groups of people living in Taiwan are fully respected,” she wrote on Facebook.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard