Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes yesterday visited Kaohsiung Harbor for a first-hand look at an ongoing project to revitalize the area and learn more about the history of the southern port city.
Accompanied by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Cartes first stopped at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, which is next to the harbor.
While the two presidents viewed the harbor, Tsai introduced her Paraguayan counterpart to the development of the port.
Photo: Ko You-hau, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) gave a speech to welcome the guests, lauding the long-standing ties between Taiwan and Paraguay.
Built during the Japanese colonial era, Kaohsiung Harbor played a focal role in the development of the nation’s heavy industry in the 1970s and 1980s, Chen said.
The harbor is undergoing an industrial transformation and is seeking to integrate with the technology and tourism industries, she said.
Giving a briefing on the city’s latest revitalization project, the “New Bay Area,” Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲) said the project covers 600 hectares and is aimed at further developing the exhibition and yacht industries.
After the briefings, Cartes and Tsai boarded a yacht to tour the harbor, accompanied by Chen.
Cartes was on his third visit to Taiwan since assuming the presidency in 2013.
He arrived on Tuesday for a three-day state visit to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
He attended several events, including a painting exhibition, to mark the occasion, and to promote bilateral trade and economic exchanges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
During talks between the two presidents on Wednesday, Tsai announced new rules allowing visa-free entry for Paraguayan citizens to Taiwan, while Cartes said his country would continue to help Taiwan take part in international organizations and activities.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of an economic cooperation agreement and the exemption of double verification of official papers.
Taiwan and Paraguay established official ties on July 12, 1957. Paraguay is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America.
Cartes’ visit comes after Panama cut formal ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China on June 13, leaving Taipei with 20 diplomatic allies.
Panama was the second country to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing since Tsai took office in May last year. Sao Tome and Principe was the first.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS