Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday drew attention to incidents involving distressed deep sea fishing vessels and called on the government to make the safety of fishermen a priority.
Chen told Greater Kaohsiung Councilor Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) she would request her deputy mayors to utilize Greater Kaohsiung’s Marine Bureau to assume control of rescuing fishing vessels that run into trouble at sea.
During an extra city council session, Lin accused the Greater Kaohsiung government of putting a low-ranking official in charge of coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when an incident involving a fishing vessel was reported, adding that the ministry’s handling of these situations was incompetent.
The accusations came after the Indonesian military on Jan. 15 confirmed that the Chen Chi Jung, a Kaohsiung-registered longline fishing boat, which had lost contact with its home port on Jan. 11, sank off of Indonesia’s Aceh Province.
Two Taiwanese and two -Indonesian crew members remain missing.
On Tuesday, Lee Chia-yun (李佳紜), the wife of Tseng Yu-chun (曾淯駿), one of the crewmen, who along with his father and boat captain, Tseng Yu-tsang (曾宥蒼), are missing, accused the government of failing to act in a timely fashion.
The delay in rescue was partly the fault of the Greater Kaohsiung officer who was in charge of handling the matter, since he was unable to communicate efficiently with the ministry, Lin said, reiterating that incompetence on the part of the ministry was also a cause.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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