President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) left on a 10-day state visit to Central America yesterday, along with first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) and a 159-person delegation, including local government heads, student representatives, college principals and a performance group.
Speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before his departure, Ma said he would continue a foreign policy that is “flexible and feasible.”
He said he would not make any public appearances during his transit stops in the US, or engage in any activity unrelated to the stopovers. He will stay in Los Angeles overnight on his way to Central America and stop in Seattle on his way back to Taipei.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that all meetings and telephone calls during the stopovers will be conducted at Ma’s hotels.
The government has billed the trip as “grassroots diplomacy” and “cultural diplomacy.” Ma will attend the inauguration of El Salvadoran president-elect Mauricio Funes on Monday, and will also visit Belize and Guatemala.
This is the first time Chow has accompanied Ma on a diplomatic mission since he became president. She will attend cultural and charity events during the trip.
Given concerns about swine flu, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦), said any delegation member developing a fever during the trip would not be allowed to board the plane.
A female radio reporter who was supposed to cover the trip was barred from the plane after failing three temperature tests. She was not quarantined, however, because she had not traveled abroad.
Earlier in the day, Ma said the cross-strait detente would not affect long-term relationships with diplomatic allies and his administration was happy to consider extending or enlarging cooperation projects with allies if necessary.
“Cross-strait detente will not affect the country’s friendship with its allies because the friendships have historical meaning and the country and its allies appreciate the same values and ideas,” he said.
“The cooperation projects will not stop or be reduced. If bilateral evaluations conclude and it is necessary to extend or expand them, we will be happy to consider it,” he said.
Ma made the remarks while meeting senior military officials from six of the country’s diplomatic allies and their families at the Presidential Office.
Ma said his administration had worked to improve cross-strait relations and that tensions across the Taiwan Strait had eased tremendously.
“We have seen a glimpse of light in peace,” he said. “We hope to extend cross-strait rapprochement to the international arena so both sides no longer engage in fierce competition to lure each other’s allies.”
This would reduce tension, lay the groundwork for peace and advance the normalization of cross-strait trade, Ma said.
After 12 years of failed attempts, the country finally participated as an observer at the World Health Assembly this year thanks to China’s goodwill and the support of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, he said.
The country came to realize that “Taiwan needs the world and the world needs Taiwan, especially in medical care,” he said.
Taiwan has many experiences and resources to share, he said, including its health insurance system, which has been called one of the best in the world.
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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