Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) yesterday unveiled a video laying out the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts over the past year to address the nation’s seemingly endless diplomatic challenges.
To celebrate the Year of the Dog, Lee invited his wife, Chih Lin (池琳), and their dog, Hana, to join him in a four-minute video to extended Lunar New Year greetings to people in Taiwan.
“Although our diplomatic situation is fraught with challenges, our diplomats are neither frustrated nor lax. They fight tirelessly for our nation’s dignity and interests, and to expand our nation’s international presence,” Lee said.
Photo: Lu Yin-hsuan, Taipei Times, screengrab of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Web site
The ministry has implemented international cooperation and humanitarian aid projects worldwide, while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) visited seven of the nation’s diplomatic allies in Central America and the Pacific, he said.
Meanwhile, ties with the US, Japan and European countries have grown stronger, Lee said, adding that efforts were being made to promote the New Southbound Policy and to start a new chapter in the nation’s foreign relations.
The ministry last year created an official Facebook page to enhance interactions with the public and to allow people to learn about foreign affairs, he said.
Republic of China passport holders now enjoy visa waivers, landing visas or other visa-related privileges in 166 countries and territories, he added.
“The US, UK and Australia have extended Republic of China passport holders e-gate entry privileges since the end of 2016,” Lee said.
Last year, Taiwan had several diplomatic setbacks, most notably Panama’s decision in June to severe diplomatic ties with Taiwan and switch recognition to China.
In addition, a number of countries have asked Taiwan’s representative offices to remove the Republic of China or Taiwan from their names, including Ecuador, Bahrain and Papua New Guinea, as well as the government of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching