The Kaohsiung City Government asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for administrative assistance with Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) 10-day US trip, which began yesterday, but while it would give assistance, it would not help him with accommodation and transportatin, because it was not asked to do so, deputy ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday in Taipei.
The ministry encourages city-to-city diplomacy, as diplomatic work requires collaboration from local and central governments across party lines, she said.
Han left a day ahead of schedule.
Photo: CNA
While there were rumors that he changed the schedule to be able to meet officials in Washington without media attention, the Kaohsiung City Government said the earlier departure was intended to give Han more time to adjust to the time difference between Taiwan and the US.
Han is scheduled to give talks at Harvard University and Stanford University, and meet with a retired ambassador and company representatives, the city government said.
He would not meet Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, but would meet Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nina Hachigian in a private capacity, city officials said.
Before his departure, Han met with Taipei Forum chairman Su Chi (蘇起) — who as Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) chairman in 2000 coined the term “1992 consensus” — and a group of academics at Kaohsiung City Hall.
Asked about Han’s controversial visit to China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office, Su said people “took it too seriously.”
The visit did not involve the same level of political sensitivity that a visit by a central government official would, Su said.
Asked if they discussed the “1992 consensus” during the meeting, the mayor said no.
However, he shares the same idea as his academic visitors: that Kaohsiung should keep an open mind and promote its businesses and products to other places, Han said.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS