President Chen Shui-bian (
Following "smooth" negotiations with US authorities, Chen and his entourage will leave Taipei on Monday morning and stay overnight in San Francisco before continuing on to Nicaragua on Tuesday to attend Nicaraguan president-elect Daniel Ortega's inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (
Liu added that Chen would also transit in Los Angeles for a "very short time" on his way back from Nicaragua on Thursday.
Chen and a coterie of Cabinet officials and VIPs will celebrate the swearing-in of Ortega and vice president-elect Jaime Morales Carazo from Tuesday to Thursday, the Presidential Office said.
"The negotiations with the US regarding the transits went very smoothly despite some disruptions, including the holiday season and the passing of former US president Gerald Ford," Liu said at a Presidential Office press conference last night.
"We are very grateful to the US and Nicaraguan governments for making such a trip possible," she added.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Hou (
"Taiwan has enjoyed warm relations with Nicaragua for six decades, and it is one of our staunchest allies in Latin America," Hou said.
Chen and his party will meet with a welcoming ceremony upon their arrival in Nicaragua on Tuesday and will participate in festivities that evening, Liu said.
"The inauguration ceremony and related events on Wednesday will occupy the president's schedule for that day," Hou said.
Liu said Chen looked forward to meeting with Taiwanese compatriots in the US, but that he would "respect US regulations and requests to Taiwan" on his transits.
As for who would accompany Chen on the state visit, Liu drew gasps from the press with her announcement that Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun had been invited to go.
"We also invited acting Taiwan Solidarity Union chairman Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) to accompany Chen, but Lin refused, citing his role as a proxy leader of that party," Liu said.
When asked if Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"Is he even in Taiwan?" Liu said, referring to Soong, who is said to be on vacation in the US.
Responding to questions on whether 200 Taiwanese businesspeople would also accompany Chen, Hou said only five or six business leaders would go, saying "it had been our hope that as many as 200 would go."
"Nicaragua had also hoped that many of our investors would accompany Chen," Hou said. "But we never stated that 200 business leaders would go."
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old