Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), a former chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), yesterday passed away in Taipei at the age of 85 due to multiple organ failure, Mackay Memorial Hospital said in a statement.
Chiang was rushed to the hospital after collapsing at a restaurant at the Regent Taipei hotel while having dinner on Saturday, the hospital said.
After undergoing emergency treatment for aortic dissection, he was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit, where he died two days later, the statement said.
Chiang was SEF chairman from 2008 to 2012, when he became head of the Straits Economic and Cultural Interchange Association.
During his career in government, Chiang held several high-level positions, including minister of economic affairs from 1993 to 1996 and Legislative Yuan vice president from 2002 to 2005.
Chiang was born in Japanese colonial-era Taiwan on Dec. 16, 1932, and obtained a doctorate from the University of Tokyo in 1971.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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