The second annual convention of the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) will be held in Taipei on Aug. 14, Vice President Annette Lu (
More than 100 guests from 33 countries are expected to attend the three-day event and a fundraiser will be held on the evening of Aug. 14, she said.
Lu's brainchild, the DPU brings together 28 democratic countries from the Asia-Pacific region. Established in August 2005, the organization aims to make a concerted effort to promote democracy, peace and prosperity in the world.
Lu made the announcement while addressing recipients of the first DPU graduate scholarship at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon.
Eight recipients from four countries will obtain their master's degrees this year. Ten students from four countries received the scholarship last year.
Among the recipients taking turns in delivering their thank-you speech, David Hann from Nova Scotia, Canada, said that "thank you" was not enough to express his gratitude.
Hann said the reason he chose to come to Taiwan over China was because of Taiwan's democracy and freedom.
"If you are in China, you have to toe the line. You cannot go against what China does," he said in fluent Mandarin. "Here in Taiwan, we have the opportunity to discuss the pros and the cons of what Taiwan does because freedom allows that."
Hann, who will obtain his master's degree from National Chengchi University this summer, plans to do his doctorate at the same university.
He said he would like to be a professor in Taiwan after getting his degree because Taiwan is full of smart people.
"I'd say Taiwan is like a diamond in the rough. It's not shining yet," he said. "I'd like to be here to help promote more critical thinking among students."
Hann said he thought the Democratic Progressive Party administration's campaign to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" was a good idea because "Chinese Taipei" confuses people.
"You don't want confusion. You want clarity," he said, adding that Taiwan has a lot to offer but the country needs to sell itself a little bit better.
"They [have] got to convince other members that we're going to be an asset in that organization. It's not just `let us in because we're being marginalized,'" he said.
When he returns to Canada someday, Hann said he would seek to explain what Taiwan is because in North America people "don't learn a lot about Asia."
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS