Taiwan yesterday hailed Hondu-ran opposition leader Ricardo Maduro's presidential election victory, saying post-election ties between Taiwan and Honduras remain warm.
"We've maintained very good ties with the Honduran opposition candidate. Bilateral ties between Taiwan and Honduras will continue to prosper based on the existing good relations between the two nations," said Katharine Chang (張小月), spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After the official announcement of Maduro's victory, Taiwan's president, vice president, premier as well as the foreign minister will formally congratulate president-elect Maduro on his victory, Chang said.
Maduro, 55, a conservative entrepreneur from the National Party, beat the ruling Liberal Party's Rafael Pineda by a wide margin in Sunday's poll.
On Monday morning with nearly 40 percent of ballots counted, Maduro had 53 percent of the vote against 44 percent for the incumbent Pineda.
The US on Monday also hailed Maduro's victory, saying his past experience would help the poor, crime-ridden Central American state face the future.
"His extensive professional experience as an international businessman and former president of Honduras's Central Bank will help his country address the challenges that lie ahead," the State Department said in a statement.
Maduro, a well-heeled businessman, has said that he is no stranger to crime as his own son was gunned down in a kidnapping attempt in 1997.
On Nov. 4, Nicaragua, another of Taiwan's allies in the region, saw the victory of former vice president Enrique Bolanos over opponent Daniel Ortega from the leftist Sandinista.
Chang said President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is expected to appoint special envoys to attend inauguration ceremonies for the two president-elects.
Bolanos' inauguration is sche-duled to be held on Jan. 10, while Maduro's is on Jan. 27, Chang said.
‘TOO TIRED’: The former mayor’s political party said that he had been questioned for nearly 19 hours, so he declined to be questioned at night, as he felt exhausted Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was arrested early yesterday morning after being questioned by prosecutors over his alleged role in a corruption scandal concerning the Core Pacific City redevelopment project during his tenure as Taipei mayor. The arrest was made after Ko refused to be questioned at night and attempted to leave the prosecutors’ office, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Prosecutors were worried that he would collude with others involved in the case to make false statements if they allowed him to leave, so they issued an order to arrest him, the office said. Ko yesterday sought a court
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘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)
RSS