Taiwan's name was yesterday removed from a Web site listing the countries that have recognized Kosovo after the site was bombarded with e-mails. This came a day after Kosovars expressed their appreciation for Taiwan's recognition of the newly declared independent country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday issued a statement congratulating Kosovo on its independence.
"The [Taiwanese] government is delighted that the people of Kosovo have the fruits of independence, democracy and freedom to look forward to. May Kosovo enjoy a bright and prosperous future," the statement said.
China has said that Taiwan does not have the right to recognize Kosovo.
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
Around 10am yesterday morning, Taiwan had been added to a list of "countries that have recognized or announced the recognition of the `Republic of Kosova'" at www.kosovothanksyou.com. The list included the names of 17 other countries. The site is not affiliated with the Kosovar government, but a government Web site links to it.
The words "xie xie" (
At 3pm, the spelling had been changed to "sie sie" and then "hsieh hsieh." Both are Romanizations of the Mandarin for "thank you," one in the Tongyong system and the other in Wade-Giles.
Tongyong is the official Romanization system used by the government, which has abandoned the Wade-Giles system.
However, Taiwan was removed from the list of countries at around 4pm. Along with the removal, the Web site briefly posted a note saying that the Web master had been bombarded with e-mails from both Taiwan and China expressing concern about having Taiwan on the list, and therefore the site decided to include only UN member states on the list.
The Web master had not responded to the Taipei Times' request for comment via e-mail as of press time.
Meanwhile, the Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that Taiwan's official recognition made the headlines in the Kosovar newspaper Kosova Sot.
People in the capital, Pristina, did not hesitate to express their appreciation when they ran into Taiwanese on the street, the report said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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