President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday conferred the Order of Brilliant Star With Violet Grand Cordon on Madeleine Majorenko, outgoing director of the European Economic and Trade Office, for her contributions to promoting bilateral relations.
Majorenko assumed the post in July 2015 and is to step down later this month.
“It’s a personal pleasure for me to receive an award from you,” Majorenko told Tsai during the ceremony at the Presidential Office Building, adding that during her time in Taiwan, she has witnessed Tsai’s inauguration and the work that her administration has done, which has seen Taiwan flourish.
Photo: CNA
Majorenko said that she has been in Taiwan for four years and has had a lot of fun aside from all the hard work, because Taiwan and the EU have achieved much together, including holding dialogues on different subjects.
Many have asked her what she would miss most about Taiwan, and there are many things, but she would especially miss the people, Majorenko said.
Taiwanese are hardworking, innovative and always committed to serving, which is one strength, she said, adding that another is their warmth, friendliness and openness.
However, the one strength that the nation has that is undeniable is its democratic system, respect for human rights, rule of law and democracy, Majorenko said.
That is why the EU deems Taiwan a like-minded partner, she added.
With such people, democracy and human rights, the future of Taiwan is bright and bilateral relations between Taiwan and the EU will go from strength to strength, Majorenko said.
“I’m very proud to be here with such an incredible female president in Taiwan,” she added.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods