The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking to replace one of its APEC business representatives after he tendered his resignation, the Chinese-language media said.
Nelson Chang (張安平), vice chairman of Chia Hsin Cement Corp (嘉新水泥), is one of three long-time representatives of Taiwan at the APEC Business Advisory Council. The other two are China Trust Commercial Bank Chairman Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松) and I-Mei Foods Industrial Co Ltd Vice President Kao Chih-shang (高志尚).
Chang cited a hectic work schedule as a reason for the resignation, but the reports speculated yesterday that he had come under pressure in relation to the DPP government's intensifying diplomatic push at APEC.
The DPP government is working to pave the way for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to attend this year's APEC summit in Mexico, the report said.
The trailblazing task, if successful, would be a diplomatic feat, given Beijing's vehement opposition to Taiwan's participation.
The foreign ministry declined to comment on the reason for Chang's resignation offer. The selection process for Chang's replacement is already underway and the ministry is expected to file a report to the Cabinet on the matter within days.
In related news, the foreign ministry plans to start issuing APEC Business Travel Cards to local business leaders around June. Cardholders are entitled to multiple entries without a visa into APEC member countries which have joined the travel card scheme.
The card is valid for three years. Over 3,000 such travel cards have been issued so far. China has also joined the card scheme and Taiwan's government has yet to announce its decision on whether to allow cardholders to cross the Taiwan Strait directly, as opposed to the current ban on direct links.
Applicants are checked against the "watch lists" of the other participating countries. Their entry must cleared by those countries in order to qualify for the card. Cardholders are supposed to be fast-tracked through special APEC lanes at international airports.
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
RSS