* Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sent a telegram to his US counterpart George W. Bush to express his condolences after airplane terror attacks in the United States destroyed New York's World Trade Centre, set the Pentagon afire, and triggered fear and panic.
"President Chen Shui-bian was shocked," his office said in a statement. "Aside from condemning this kind of violent acts, he also expressed condolences to the relatives of victims."
* Taiwan instructed its diplomatic missions in the US on Wednesday to protect overseas Chinese following the terrorist attacks.
The Foreign Ministry said it had instructed Taiwan's 13 representative offices in the US to form emergency taskforces to protect overseas Chinese.
"As of now, we have not heard of overseas Chinese or Taiwan nationals being killed or injured in the attacks," the ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan does not have an embassy in the US because Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. Since then, Taiwan has opened 13 representative offices in the US to serve as Taiwan's diplomatic missions.
* Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) was forced to postpone his return from Hawaii as the United States closed airports nationwide in response to horrifying terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the Government Information Office said Wednesday.
Premier Chang, who arrived in Hawaii Monday for a transit stop after a four-leg visit to the Caribbean aimed at cementing relations with the Republic of China's diplomatic allies, was originally scheduled to return to Taipei Wednesday afternoon.
GIO officials said Premier Chang's new return schedule will be announced later.
Premier Chang left Taipei Sept. 1 for his first diplomatic tour since assuming office last October. He has visited four ROC allies in the East Caribbean -- Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada -- during his trip.
* Taiwan stepped up security at all defense and military installations following the devastating terror attacks in the United States, defense authorities said Wednesday.
Defense Minister Wu Shih-wen (伍世文) and Chief of Staff General Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) ordered all troops "to enforce safeguarding security on all military units and important facilities," a defense ministry statement said.
"All high-ranking officers were ordered to stay at their posts," the statement said.
Troop operations remained normal, it added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique