Former National Science Council minister Cyrus Chu (朱敬一) has been named as the new head of Taiwan’s mission to the WTO, while former minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) has been appointed as Taiwan’s new representative to the UK, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
In an announcement of new diplomatic appointments, the Presidential Office said Chu is to replace Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), who has resigned as Taiwan’s representative to the WTO.
Meanwhile, Lin, a career diplomat who stepped down as foreign minister on May 20 when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office, has been appointed as Taiwan’s representative to the UK to succeed Liu Chih-kung (劉志攻), who resigned in May.
As part of the reshuffle under the new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, Antonio Chiang (江春男), a prominent journalist and political commentator, has been appointed to serve as Taiwan’s representative to Singapore.
His previous posts included deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council and publisher of the weekly Journalist magazine and the Taipei Times.
The Presidential Office also announced that Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), former head of the Government Information Office, will serve as Taiwan’s new representative to Germany.
It will be his second diplomatic posting in Germany, after he served there in that same position from 2005 to 2007 under the previous DPP administration.
In another European posting, Kuo Shih-nan (郭時南), Taiwan’s former representative to Fiji and Singapore, has been appointed as the nation’s top envoy to Greece, the Presidential Office said in its statement.
It said Taiwan’s representative to the Czech Republic, Lu Hsiao-jung (陸小榮), has resigned, but a replacement has not yet been selected.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,