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 inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS