Postal companies in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam will not attend the PhilaTaipei World Stamp Championship Exhibition in Taipei because of stalled cross-strait relations and sovereignty disputes over islands in the South China Sea, Chunghwa Post said yesterday.
The exhibition, which is to be held from Oct. 21 to Oct. 25, is to be attended by more than 80 countries around the world.
This is the first time that Taiwan has been selected to host the international event.
Chunghwa Post said postal companies in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam were registered, but China and Hong Kong have canceled because of stalled cross-strait relations since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government took office on May 20.
Chunghwa Post spokesperson Wang Shu-ming (王淑敏) said that Vietnam Post lodged a protest against Chunghwa Post after the latter on May 5 published a set of stamps advocating peace in the South China Sea in a bid to defend the nation’s sovereignty over Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), adding that the company has no further details from the Vietnamese postal company.
Chunghwa Post chairman Philip Ong (翁文祺) said that Taiwan was awarded hosting rights of the Asian International Stamp Exhibition last year, which is considered the precursor to the World Stamp Championship Exhibition.
He said that the nation qualified to host the exhibition after securing approval from the members of Federation Internationale de Philatelie.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had