Saint Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has arrived in Taiwan on a state visit and to join celebrations for Double Ten National Day on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Separately, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez and his wife, Silvana Lopez Moreira de Abdo, arrived in Taipei yesterday after the government invited them to attend Double Ten National Day celebrations, the ministry said.
Chastanet was invited by the government for his third visit to the nation since becoming prime minister in June 2016, the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
During his four-day stay, Chastanet is to attend a welcoming ceremony with military honors and a national banquet to be hosted by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and hold talks with Tsai and other officials, the ministry said.
Saint Lucia is one of 17 nations that formally recognize Taiwan.
The ministry lauded the close cooperation between Taiwan and Saint Lucia in the areas of infrastructure development, agriculture, education and culture, information technology, and public health and medical care.
The two countries will continue to promote projects benefiting their people and those aimed at deepening their friendly relations, it said.
In other developments, Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) on Saturday said that relations with Palau remain friendly and stable, and bilateral cooperation programs were going smoothly after the Apple Daily in Hong Kong reported that Palau House of Delegates Speaker Sabino Anastacio predicted ties with Taiwan could be changed, probably within two years.
Palau has demonstrated its strong support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1999, which the ministry much appreciates, Lee said.
The ministry is pushing ahead with cooperation programs in Palau to further promote the friendship, and the relationship remains “close and friendly,” he said.
Lee said that the ministry respected the opinions expressed by Anastacio and others on the development of relations between Taiwan and Palau, and has instructed Taiwan’s embassy in the Pacific nation to increase communications to make sure Palau knows that Taiwan is a good friend.
Beijing in November last year imposed travel restrictions prohibiting Chinese travel agencies from organizing tours to Palau, dealing a harsh blow to Palau’s economy.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS