Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and Suzanne Lawrence — special adviser for children’s issues at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs — yesterday jointly hailed as a success the first Taiwan-US meeting on issues related to transnational child abduction.
The meeting was made possible after the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington on April 12 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Cooperation on International Parental Child Abduction.
Based on the MOU, they appointed representatives from the bureau and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to form a joint commission to tackle and prevent cross-border abductions of children.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
After yesterday’s meeting, Chen and Lawrence shared held a news conference at the AIT in Taipei.
Transnational parental child abductions happen when parents take children to other nations without the other parent’s consent, leading to their loss of contact with the child, a problem in Taiwan and the US, Chen said.
Both sides have reached a consensus to safeguard children’s rights and interests, he said.
The two sides are to meet every six months, Chen said, reiterating the importance of “leaving no one behind” in health-related issues.
Asked about specific issues discussed during the meeting, Lawrence said attendees discussed how to locate abducted children, the limitations of privacy laws that prevent efforts to locate the children and potentially creative solutions.
Parents left behind are often worried about their child’s welfare so attendees also addressed how to confirm a child’s status, she said, adding that it is crucial to bring together experts in the field.
The US is looking forward to deepening its cooperation with Taiwan in this area and many other issues of significance in the coming years, Lawrence said.
As Taiwan has no access to The Hague Convention — a channel for the US to collaborate with other nations to prevent child abductions, the MOU is an alternative channel for Taiwan to join related efforts, the AIT said.
Taiwan is one of the few nations outside the convention, in addition to Saudi Arabia, which — unlike Taiwan — refused to join it, the AIT added.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
RSS