The bilateral Singapore-Taipei Star Light Project, under which Taiwan provides training facilities for Singaporean troops, has been temporarily suspended in light of the SARS outbreak, Ker Sin Tze, trade representative of the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei said yesterday.
"This training has come to a temporary suspension because of the SARS outbreak ... This is not the so-called `evacuation,'" Ker said.
Ker made the statement yesterday afternoon after a ceremony at the foreign ministry during which he symbolically passed on to Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
Ker said he was delighted to present these items to Taiwan on behalf of the government and people of Singapore, while adding that he hopes the SARS outbreak would be soon brought under control in Taiwan.
A China Airlines flight carried the 100,000 surgical gowns, 100,000 surgical masks, 100,000 N95 masks and 15 boxes of chemical agents for testing for the SARS virus to Chiang Kai-shek airport, according to Eleanor Kang, assistant trade representative at the Singapore Trade Office.
Another two thermo-scanners, which would be loaned to Taiwan, are slated to reach Taiwan from Singapore today, according to Kang.
Singapore had proposed to send medical experts to Taiwan to help combat the flu-like deadly disease if necessary, although Taiwan has yet to make such a request, Ker told the press.
On behalf of the government and the people of Taiwan, Chien expressed gratitude for the substantive gesture from Singapore.
The ministry in a press release yesterday also expressed its gratitude to South Korea after Seoul announced last week that it would donate some 15,000 surgical masks to Taiwan to help combat the SARS outbreak.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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