Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended the funeral of Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Laurie Chan Hok Si's (
Chan's maternal grandfather Lu Szu-chang (
After the Chinese civil war, he spent most of his life in Hong Kong before moving to Taiwan with one of his daughters around 10 years ago, according to the ministry.
Chan was born in the Solomon Islands shortly after her parents emigrated there.
Lin, who conveyed condolences to Lu's family on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Chen (
Chan's mother was also at the funeral.
While Lu's residence in Taiwan had contributed to strengthening diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the Solomon Islands, a group of Solomon Islands opposition lawmakers have recently visited China, according to Lin.
Noting that the Solomon Islands is a democratic country, Lin said it is natural it listens to "various kinds of voices."
The opposition lawmakers have illusions about China and seek to develop a relationship with it, but their visit to Beijing would not affect the Solomon Islands' ties with Taiwan, Lin said.
Lin also announced that the parliamentary speaker of the Pacific archipelago nation of Kiribati will lead a delegation on an official visit to Taipei.
The delegation is scheduled to arrive on Saturday. Members of the delegation include lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties.
"This shows both the ruling and opposition parties in Kiribati are supportive of the country's relations with Taiwan," Lin said.
The delegation is slated to meet with President Chen Shui-bian (
Kiribati established diplomatic ties with Taiwan in November 2003.
Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands Finance Minister Brenson Wase will lead a group of finance officials, including the country's Banking Commissioner Alfred Alfred Jr, on a visit to Taiwan from April 6 to 10.
The delegation will visit a number of government agencies, including the International Cooperation and Development Fund, Lin said.
Regarding President Chen Shui-bian's (
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
RSS