Ambassador to Eswatini Thomas Chen (陳經銓) has been hospitalized in South Africa after he was found seriously ill in his office on June 22, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Chen was first treated in Eswatini after he fell ill, ministry spokesperson Andrew Lee (李憲章) said, but he has since been transferred to a hospital in South Africa after the ministry received permission from Chen’s family.
Lee did not disclose the nature of Chen’s illness, saying only that he fell ill because he had been very busy over the past few months arranging President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) state visit to Eswatini in April and a visit by King Mswati III to Taiwan earlier this month.
Photo: CNA
The head of the nation’s medical mission in Eswatini and a nurse are accompanying Chen at the South African hospital, Lee said.
Swazi King Mswati III, Tsai and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) have all expressed concern over Chen’s hospitalization and have wished him a swift recovery, Lee added.
Chen has served as ambassador to the southern African nation, previously known as Swaziland, since September 2013.
He has previously served as deputy representative to Canada and head of the ministry’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
The nation’s embassy in Eswatini is currently being headed by Chen’s deputy, Lee said.
Eswatini is the nation’s only remaining diplomatic ally in Africa after Burkina Faso switched recognition to China on May 24.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS