Paraguayan Ambassador to Taiwan Marcial Bobadilla Guillen yesterday said that his country resolutely opposes the establishment of ties with Beijing, despite increasing pressure from China.
Companies in Paraguay have been calling for the government to cut ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing, but “Taiwan, not China, is Paraguay’s friend,” Guillen cited Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez as saying.
Benitez hopes Taiwan and Paraguay will continue to deepen that friendship, Guillen said during an inauguration ceremony for the 23-member Republic of China (Taiwan) — Republic of Paraguay Inter-parliamentarian Friendship Association.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞), who launched the association, said she hopes it will be a “bridge between the two countries through which its members can make contributions” to the friendship between the two nations.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Tsao (曹立傑), Overseas Community Affairs Council Vice Chairwoman Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) and KMT Legislator Sandy Yeh (葉毓蘭) also attended the ceremony at the legislature in Taipei.
Despite the two nations’ geographical distance, Paraguay has been an important ally, demonstrated by Taiwan’s donation of 1 million masks and other medical supplies to help Paraguayan medical workers deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Wen said.
Although Beijing has been trying to coerce Asuncion into switching recognition by pressuring Paraguayan companies, Paraguayans have the right to choose their friends, Guillen said.
Paraguay is Taiwan’s most important ally in South America, and a strong trading partner, Tsao said.
By the end of this year, Taiwan would have imported an estimated 20,000 tonnes of Paraguayan beef worth US$100 million, 10 times the amount it imported five years ago, he said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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