The Presidential Office yesterday said that People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) is to represent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at this year’s APEC leaders’ summit.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference in Taipei, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said Tsai chose Soong as her special envoy to the summit in Peru next month because of his exceptional knowledge about international affairs and Taiwan’s political and economic situations.
“Tsai believes that with Soong’s abundant knowledge, seasoned experience and strong personal network, he will undoubtedly be able to demonstrate the nation’s all-directional development to the international community, strengthen our influence in APEC and promote interactions with its members,” Huang said.
Photo: CNA
Huang said that Soong, who ran against Tsai in the Jan. 16 presidential election, will be accompanied by his daughter to the APEC summit.
Since Taiwan became a full member of APEC in 1991, it has supported various initiatives and programs proposed by the economic forum, including donating US$500,000 to the APEC Support Fund on Aug. 25, Huang said.
“The nation will continue to actively participate in the forum while endeavoring to deepen its cooperation and interactions with APEC members and serve as an innovator, sharer and service provider in regional economic and trading development,” Huang said.
Due to China’s oppression and obstruction, Taiwanese presidents have followed the practice of sending special envoys to the meeting instead of attending it in person.
PFP Culture and Publicity Department director Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that Soong is willing to help the government with anything that is conducive to national development and cross-strait peace.
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on