President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said in Paraguay yesterday that although the US transit arrangements for him during his current Latin America visit are not quite satisfactory, he would not blame "our good friend the United States."
During an interview with three major Paraguayan media outlets, Chen said that he is not completely pleased with the US arrangements and decisions on the transit stops, but added that he would hate to make Washington's life difficult because of this matter.
He said the latest case was a "particular development under particular circumstances," adding that he hopes it will not serve as a precedent for Washington in making stopover arrangements for Taiwan's head of state.
PHOTO: AP
He said the US government faces many thorny global issues, such as problems with North Korea and Iran, and pointed out that Washington particularly needs China's support at the UN, where debates on the Iranian nuclear issue are scheduled for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
Chen is scheduled to attend the inaugural ceremony of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias today and return to Taipei on Thursday.
PHOTO: AFP
Chen said it is a great pity that China has taken advantage of a complicated international situation to conduct "political blackmail" and has relentlessly suppressed Taiwan in the international community.
He stressed that despite China's persistent containment efforts against Taiwan, the nation must "stand up and march forward" courageously, adding that "putting up with some inconvenience is alright for the sake of defending the nation's dignity."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly had asked that Chen be allowed to transit through New York or San Francisco. However, the US only offered Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii, as transit locations.
The US offer was rejected and, as a result, Chen and his entourage arrived in Paraguay last Friday after a 37-hour flight that took them to Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam for refueling.
On Saturday, Chen and Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos presided over a ceremony to mark the completion of a Taiwan-funded housing project for disadvantaged people in Coronel Ovieda, Duarte's hometown.
The Paraguayan leader also held a banquet for Chen and his entourage at his residence, after which Chen met with Vice President Luis Castiglioni and signed a communique with Duarte.
Duarte also invited Taiwan to cooperate with Paraguay to explore Paraguay's Chaco region for oil.
He said that the region is home to rich deposits of fossil fuels, but that explorers must drill to a depth of 5,000m to access them.
That would require tremendous investment, Duarte said, adding that he hoped the two nations could pool their resources in undertaking such an exploration and profit from the finds together.
Huang said that Paraguay and Taiwan had discussed the offer in the past, and that state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp had already sent scientists to Chaco to conduct an assessment.
Whether or not the project will go through is for the company to decide, Huang said.
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
GRAFT PROBE: Critics questioned Ko claiming he did not know about the Core Pacific floor area ratio issue until this year, citing a 2021 video in which he was asked about it Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released without bail early yesterday, while his deputy during his tenure as Taipei mayor was detained and held incommunicado after being questioned since Friday over graft allegations related to a shopping center redevelopment project. Prosecutors on Saturday filed a request with the Taipei District Court to officially detain Ko and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) over allegations surrounding the redevelopment of Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心). The court yesterday determined that the evidence provided by prosecutors was insufficient to justify the detention of Ko and ordered his
RSS