Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez yesterday offered his condolences to people affected by the earthquake that struck Hualien County late on Tuesday.
“On behalf of all Honduran people, I extend my deepest sympathy to the people of Taiwan, especially the families affected by the earthquake. President Tsai [Ing-wen] (蔡英文), our sincere support to you,” Hernandez wrote in Spanish in a tweet.
Several foreign representatives to Taiwan also offered their condolences on Facebook, including American Institute (AIT) in Taiwan Director Kin Moy and British Representative to Taiwan Catherine Nettleton.
“On behalf of my American Institute in Taiwan family and my colleagues in the U.S. Government, I want to let all the people affected by the earthquake know that you are in our thoughts today,” Moy wrote on the AIT’s official Facebook page.
Lawmakers across party lines have jointly announced that they would suspend their election campaign events for one day to focus on helping people who affected by the magnitude 6 earthquake.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who are vying for the party’s Taichung mayoral nomination, announced that they have suspended all campaign events.
Lu said that the Hualien County Government asked her to announce that the county is busy coordinating disaster relief and to ask residents to refrain from visiting the county offices for personal business today.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said that the current atmosphere is not appropriate for campaign events and he would be suspending all election-related events for several days.
DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) also canceled events in Taipei, where he was to canvass for support and hand out Lunar New year couplets.
Instead he met with his campaign team to discuss how to help Hualien residents affected by the earthquake.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle