China’s Ming Dynasty fleet commanded by eunuch admiral Zheng He (鄭和) has been listed by an expert as one of the five most powerful navies in history.
Japanese-US defense affairs specialist Kyle Mizokami said in an article posted on the National Interest journal’s Web site on Sunday that Zheng’s 15th century fleet, along with that of Greece in 480 BC, the UK and Northern Ireland from 1815 to 1918, Japan in 1941 and the US in 1945, were the five most powerful navies in history.
He said that Zheng He’s fleet undertook seven voyages in and around the Indian Ocean with what was then the most powerful navy in the world.
“The ruling Ming Dynasty had an outward-looking agenda, to secure trade routes for the import of luxuries and raw materials into a growing China,” he said.
“Chinese naval technology then was probably the most advanced in the world, with shipbuilding technology — such as three and four-masted sailing ships — sometimes 1,000 years ahead of Europe,” Mizokami wrote.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
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President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based