DIPLOMACY
Abe thanks Tsai for support
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday expressed on Twitter his gratitude for the sympathy and support extended by Taiwanese and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the wake of heavy rain, flooding and landslides that killed at least 151 people in Japan. Abe wrote in Chinese that he is thankful for the sincere condolences and is grateful for the prompt assistance and donations from Taiwanese. The warm support of Taiwan in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami is unforgettable, he said. Abe’s response came after Tsai extended her condolences in Japanese, saying that Taiwan is ready to provide any assistance. The president also expressed the hope that survivors will recover soon and that the areas hit by the disaster will be restored as soon as possible. Taiwan is also afflicted by frequent heavy rains and understands the severity of such disasters, Tsai said. Taiwan has pledged to donate ￥20 million (US$179,920) to Japan for flood relief, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday.
DEVELOPMENT
MOU signed on AI, robotics
The Hsinchu Science Park and the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India’s Karnataka State to promote bilateral exchanges in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The document was signed by Hsinchu Science Park director-general Wayne Wang (王永壯), CTSP director-general Chen Ming-huang (陳銘煌), and Karnataka Center for e-Governance chief executive officer Shri K. Nagaraja. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Representative to India Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) and Gaurav Gupta, the principal secretary of the Karnataka Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology. Speaking after the ceremony, Wang said he hopes to promote exchanges between academics and entrepreneurs in Taiwan and Karnataka and help Taiwanese firms gain access to the growing Indian market to create new business opportunities in Bengaluru, especially in the field of information technology. Chen said he also hopes to see cooperation in robotics. The MOU enables the two nations to institutionalize an industrial collaboration mechanism and platform, which, in turn, would help enhance ties in the fields of industry, investment and technical cooperation on an equal and mutually beneficial basis, Tien said.
ENVIRONMENT
US official in Taiwan
Jane Nishida, principal deputy assistant administrator at the US Environmental Protection Agency, yesterday arrived in Taiwan to promote bilateral cooperation, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement. Nishida is to meet with government officials and students today to promote the International Environmental Partnership (IEP), a long-time collaboration between the US agency and the Environmental Protection Administration, the statement said. The AIT did not disclose when Nishida would be leaving Taiwan. Through the IEP, the US and Taiwan have addressed issues related to environmental education, electronic waste management, air pollution, mercury monitoring, and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, the statement said. Nishida has more than 30 years of environmental experience at the federal and state government levels, and with international and non-governmental organizations. She has visited Taiwan several times to promote the IEP, the AIT said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
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