Promotion of eco-diplomacy will be high on the agenda of the Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Affairs Committee this year, an official said yesterday.
Speaking at a committee news briefing, deputy head Jack Chiang (
He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-backed (MOFA) mission was comprised of experienced birders, British and Canadian bird experts and a nature photographer. It was formed following a trip by foreign ambassadors to Taiwan to the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area last year.
The mission helped Saint Lucia to establish its own eco-tourism routes, birding Web sites and to document its bird species for the future publication of a birding guide, Chiang said.
On the committee's work assisting MOFA in the promotion of the international activities of NGOs based in Taiwan, Chiang said a Chinese-English Web site had been set up to help local NGOs apply for subsidies and also to forge links with overseas NGOs.
He said online applications for subsidies would be easier and quicker, and that the NGOs could also inquire as to the progress of their applications online.
Chiang said a section of the Web site, and its "online radio station" was dedicated to the UN's Millennium Development Goals. He said it would feature a monthly "hot topic" that was receiving attention in the international community and include an interview with a Taiwanese NGO, in the hope of increasing communication and collaboration among local NGOs and expanding their international links and activities.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry