DIPLOMACY
Tuvaluan minister visits
Tuvaluan Minister for Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe yesterday arrived in Taiwan for a six-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Kofe’s trip reaffirms bilateral relations, as it was made shortly after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Tuvalu from Tuesday to Thursday last week, the ministry said. He is also the first Tuvaluan official to lead a delegation to Taiwan after Tuvalu in September elected a new government, it said. The Tuvaluan delegation is to meet President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and other officials, as well as people involved in the agriculture, culture and food processing industries, it said.
WEATHER
Sunset to align in Taichung
The sunset is to align with certain streets in Taichung tomorrow, the Central Weather Bureau said on Friday in a release detailing its fifth forecast of sun alignments across the country this year. The bureau said that the alignment can be seen until Friday on Jingguo Road in Dajia District (大甲), lasting from 4:39pm to 4:59pm tomorrow and beginning two minutes later each day after that. It said it would solicit photographs of the alignment on its app, asking for information about when and where the images are taken, to improve its sun alignment forecast abilities. Interest in sunset alignments, which often take place on east-west streets in the city, has increased in the past few years, attracting large numbers of photographers, the bureau said.
CRIME
Thai man held for murder
A Thai migrant worker is suspected of hitting another Thai man with a blunt object during an argument on Friday night, which killed him, police said yesterday. At about 11:30pm, the suspect, 42, who worked in a vehicle maintenance factory in Taichung’s Taiping District (太平) argued with his 39-year-old Thai colleague for unknown reasons, Taichung police said, adding that he was under the influence of alcohol. During the quarrel, the men began fighting and the suspect allegedly grabbed a blunt object and hit the other man with it, police said. Police were notified and rushed to the scene with an ambulance. The victim, who was injured on his head, neck and abdomen, and was bleeding severely, was taken to hospital, but did not survive, they said. Police said they arrested the suspect at the scene and sent him to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office.
CRIME
Cannabis haul confiscated
A Canadian man was arrested late last month at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport trying to smuggle cannabis with an estimated street value of NT$80 million to NT$120 million (US$2.62 million to US$3.93 million) into the country, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Tuesday. The man landed in Taiwan on Oct. 30 on a direct flight from Toronto, carrying two pieces of checked luggage that were flagged during an X-ray scan, bureau officer Tien Wei-jen (田偉仁) said. Customs officers found that the two suitcases contained 30 vacuum-sealed bags filled with a total of 31.63kg of cannabis, Tien said. Under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), cannabis is classified as a Category 2 narcotic. The penalty for manufacturing, transporting or selling Category 2 narcotics ranges from seven years to life in prison and a fine of up to NT$10 million. The Canadian has been handed over to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office, Tien said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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