President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen had one-on-one meetings with Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, Haiti's acting President Boniface Alexandre, Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos, Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca and Panamanian President Martin Torrijos.
The heads of state all restated a resolve to support Taiwan in its bid to take part in major international organizations, including the WHO.
Taiwan and Guatemala signed a letter of intent last September on setting up an FTA. The agreement is expected to take effect this month after the Taiwanese government finishes screening tariff lists.
Chen invited Saca to Taiwan in October for a visit, during which he said they could sign a Taiwan-El Salvador FTA. He said that an agreement would be a shot in the arm for the development of a proposed vocational training center to be named the "Taiwan Park in El Salvador."
Taiwan has promised to channel some US$8 million to finance the development of the center.
Saca said El Salvador would not shift diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China simply because of pressure from Beijing.
Meanwhile, Chen reiterated that the NT$7.5 billion (US$250 million) "Jung Pang" project he initiated during a trip to Latin American last year remains in place and has received favorable responses from Taiwanese companies.
Separately, Chen also met Betty Williams, a Nobel Peace Prize winner from Ireland, in San Jose.
Williams invited Chen to visit Ireland, saying that she would do her utmost to help the president obtain a visa.
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
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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