The uncle of Iruan Ergui Wu (吳憶樺), the Taiwanese-Brazilian boy at the center of a custody battle, yesterday asked Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) for her help in keeping Iruan in Taiwan.
After the Supreme Court last week upheld the verdict by the Taiwan High Court's Kaohsiung branch that Iruan must return to the guardianship of his Brazilian grandmother, Rosa Ergui, his Brazilian family started preparing to welcome him home at the end of the month.
While visiting the boy at a coffee shop in Kaohsiung City, Lu said that, although the court's decision should be respected, Iruan's own will and decisions should also receive serious consideration.
PHOTO: LIBERTY TIMES
Wu told the vice president that all the members of his family hoped Iruan could stay in Taiwan and that she is the family's only hope at the moment.
Lu yesterday took some time to chat with Iruan. She asked him whether he still remembered his Brazilian grandmother's name. Iruan replied: "I cannot remember."
"I do not want to go back to Brazil. Right now I just want to find a place to hide myself so nobody will find me and send me away from my family and my friends," Iruan told the vice president.
"Children are also human beings. They also have the right to speak out," Lu said.
"As far as I am concerned, Iruan has been upset ever since he learned he would have to go back to Brazil. So we should seriously consider how he really feels and whether he is really willing to go back to Brazil," she said.
Lu said the court's ruling that Iruan's Brazilian grandmother is his legal guardian was totally logical and reasonable, but that the court did not consider asking Iruan whether he wants to stay in Taiwan or go back to his Brazilian home.
In the meantime, the vice president said, Iruan's case should not get in the way of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Brazil, and that this case should be handled very carefully.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS