The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced the appointment of Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary principal Pusin Tali as Taiwan’s first ambassador-at-large for religious freedom.
Pusin Tali, a 63-year-old member of the Atayal community, has served as principal of the theological college since 2002. He has a doctorate in theology from South East Asia Graduate School of Theology in the Philippines.
His appointment comes after the historic Potomac Plan of Action, a product of the US Department of State’s first ministerial gathering held in Washington in July last year. Scores of government officials and religious and civic leaders from around the world attended the event in a bid to advance religious freedom.
Photo courtesy of Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary
The plan of action urges states to counter threats against religious freedom by creating special ambassadorial positions, extending financial assistance to people persecuted for their advocacy of religious freedom and strengthening institutional capacity to protect religious freedom, among others.
“To respond to the US’ initiative, the government spent the past few months gathering recommendations and selecting from among suitable candidates,” the ministry said in a news release.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) decided to appoint Pusin Tali as the nation’s first-ever ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, the ministry said, adding that Pusin Tali would represent the government as he assists in promoting cooperation among likeminded countries and the international community on causes related to religious freedom.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) yesterday announced that the government would donate US$200,000 per year over five years to the International Religious Freedom Fund established by the US Department of State.
The announcement was made at a ministry reception last evening in honor of US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a four-day visit.
“The government is willing to take concrete steps to contribute to global religious freedom,” the ministry said, adding that it would ensure that the money goes to individuals or groups in various parts of the world who need financial assistance.
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
J-6 REMODEL: The converted drones are part of Beijing’s expanding mix of airpower weapons, including bombers with stand-off missiles and UAV swarms, the report said China has stationed obsolete supersonic fighters converted to attack drones at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait, a report published this month by the Arlington, Virginia-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said. Satellite imagery of the airfields from the institute’s “China Airpower Tracker” shows what appear to be lines of stubby, swept-winged aircraft matching the shape of J-6 fighters that first flew with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in the 1960s. Since their conversion to drones, the aircraft have been identified at five bases in China’s Fujian Province and one in Guangdong Province, the report said. J.
RSS