The government yesterday offered condolences to the family of Czech Senate President Jaroslav Kubera, a supporter of Taiwan, who passed away a day earlier in Teplice, Czech Republic.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) had called the Czech Economic and Cultural Office, Taipei to communicate the sadness of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Taiwanese at hearing of Kubera’s death, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Patrick Rumlar, the head of the Czech office, thanked Wu and said he would relay the message to his government, Ou said.
Ke Liang-ruey (柯良叡), the head of Taiwan’s representative office in the Czech Republic, also called Kubera’s office and his family after the news broke to express Taiwan’s sadness, the ministry said.
Kubera died in Prague on Monday at the age of 72 due to unspecified health problems, a Czech News Agency report said.
Kubera was described by Ou as a staunch supporter of Taiwan who was scheduled to visit the nation next month.
Kubera attended the National Day reception held by the Taiwan representative office in October last year and announced his intention to visit Taiwan with a business delegation, which angered Beijing and Czech President Milos Zeman, according to foreign media reports.
He was intent on pushing through with the visit, despite the opposition of the Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic, Ou said.
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
Garbage and recycling schedules are to vary from Saturday through Sunday next week over the Lunar New Year holiday period. The following collection information is from the governments of the six special municipalities. Taipei Regular service: Sunday to Monday next week. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Extra service: Friday next week. Regular service resumes: Saturday next week. New Taipei City Extra service: Sunday. Adjusted collection time: Monday next week — garbage collection is to begin in the morning and end at 6pm. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Regular service resumes: Friday next week. Note: Garbage can be dropped off at 70
A KFC branch in Kaohsiung may be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$1,907 and US$6.37 million), after a customer yesterday found an entire AAA battery inside an egg tart, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said today. The customer was about to microwave a box of egg tarts they had bought at the fast-food restaurant’s Nanzih (楠梓) branch when they checked the bottom and saw a dark shadow inside one of them, they said in a Threads post. The customer filmed themself taking the egg tart apart to reveal an entire AAA battery inside, which apparently showed signs of damage. Surveillance footage showed
GROUP EFFORT: The number of inbound travelers rose 11 to 12 percent last month, with a significant increase in tourists from Europe and North America, an official said The government aims to attract 9.4 million visitors this year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday, citing last year’s success in diversifying tourist markets. Taiwan last year drew about 8.57 million international arrivals, 72.3 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels. By contrast, the nation had about 18.94 million outbound tourists last year, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 level of 17.1 million. The estimated tourism revenue deficit was about NT$700.9 billion (US$22.22 billion). Taoyuan International Airport Corp expects more than 160,000 passengers to pass through the nation’s largest airport daily during the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Saturday. As of Jan. 30, the nation’s average hotel occupancy rate
RSS