Guatemalan President Oscar Berger Perdomo said on Tuesday that Taiwan-Guatemala ties must be mutually beneficial and that neither party should be disadvantaged.
Berger made the remarks at the presidential palace during a joint news conference with Vice President Annette Lu (
Asked whether Guatemala would take concrete action to support Taiwan's desire to take part in world bodies, including the UN, Berger replied that each country's sovereignty must be fully respected.
He stressed that Guatemala would step up two-way ties with Taiwan on a wide range of fronts as there still was a lot of room for mutual exploration.
After Taiwan and Guatemala signed a free trade agreement, two-way trade increased to US$150 million per year, a jump from the previous level of about US$2 million per year when he assumed the presidency, Berger said. He also expressed hope that more Taiwanese industries would invest in Guatemala.
Berger said that Taiwan would offer 25 scholarships for Guatemalan students to study in Taiwan and was also assisting in building an expressway in Guatemala.
Taiwan-Guatemala ties have to be built upon mutual benefits, with neither side a loser, Berger said.
Commenting on Berger's proposal of turning Quetzal Port into a free trade zone, Lu hailed the idea and said she would suggest that relevant Taiwanese authorities assess the feasibility of bilateral cooperation in the project.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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