The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the Paraguayan and US governments for helping arrange a charter flight to evacuate 21 Taiwanese who had been stranded in the nation due to border closings, who are expected to return home today.
Paraguay on March 25 stopped accepting civilian flights, except for humanitarian charters, due to COVID-19 concerns, the Republic of China (ROC) embassy in Asuncion wrote on Facebook.
The embassy thanked the US embassy in Asuncion for sharing information about an Eastern Airlines flight chartered by the US government, allowing 21 Taiwanese and an American spouse to board the flight to Miami on Tuesday.
Photo copied by Lu Yi-shuan, Taipei Times, from the Facebook page of the Republic of China embassy in Paraguay
It sent staff to Silvio Pettirossi International Airport to help with the evacuees with customs clearance and boarding, the ROC embassy said.
The US embassy on May 20 informed the other foreign missions in Paraguay of its attempt to arrange a charter flight from Asuncion to Miami, and said foreign tourists could book seats with the airline, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday in Taipei.
In Miami, the Taiwanese would board a flight operated by a Taiwanese airline, and were expected to arrive home late tonight, she said.
As per entry regulations, they would be sent directly to designated quarantine sites for a 14-day stay before being allowed to return home.
The ROC and US embassies maintain positive relations and frequent contact, as demonstrated by the charter flight, Ou said, thanking the US and Paraguayan governments, as well as the airlines, for helping the stranded Taiwanese return home.
Paraguay is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies and the only one in South America.
The 63-year-old ties between the two nations are facing increasing pressure from China, although the Paraguayan Senate on April 17 voted 25-16 against a proposal by opposition and pro-China senators to switch ties to Beijing, Americas Quarterly reported last month.
Former ambassador to Paraguay Diego Chou (周麟) returned to Taipei soon after the vote, but the ministry on April 22 said his return was a normal rotation.
Taiwan’s new ambassador to Paraguay, Jose Han (韓志正) on Tuesday presented his letter of credence to Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez, the embassy said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS