President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) scheduled visit to the Solomon Islands today will not be affected, despite threats of a vote of no confidence against Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
“The Solomon Islands’ ruling and opposition parties unanimously agree that Tsai’s delegation is of great importance, and that they should complete receiving them before dealing with domestic politics,” Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Deputy Director Peter Lan (藍夏禮) said.
Despite the political uncertainty, the situation has not affected Taiwan’s relations with the Solomon Islands, nor will it affect Tsai’s schedule, Lan said.
Seven of the South Pacific nation’s Cabinet ministers, including Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga, resigned on Saturday and plan to initiate a vote of no confidence against Sogavare next week.
Asked whether the government was aware of the political situation prior to Tsai’s visit, which began on Saturday, Lan said the government has been paying close attention to developments in the Solomon Islands.
“This year marks the 34th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and the Solomon Islands,” Lan said.
“A lot has happened during the period and we believe our friendship and bilateral cooperation will continue to go smoothly,” Lan added.
As the Solomon Islands has a parliamentary system, a vote of no-confidence is always a possibility, he added.
Tsai is scheduled to arrive in the Solomon Islands this evening for the final leg of her eight-day state visit to the nation’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific.
She is to stay there for two nights before returning home via the US territory of Guam.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS