A representative office is set to open in Somaliland at the end of this month, at the earliest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday amid reports that Beijing is sending a diplomatic delegation to the east African country.
The ministry on July 1 announced that Taiwan and Somaliland would establish representative offices, following a report by the Somaliland Chronicle Web site.
It said at the time that the two nations did not plan to establish formal ties.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi has instructed close confidants to explore the possibility of “mutual recognition between Taiwan and Somaliland,” the Somaliland Chronicle reported on Monday, citing sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
He had also ordered a close examination of the US’ Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019, which encourages the US government to increase economic, security and diplomatic engagements with nations that have enhanced relations with Taiwan, the Web site said.
Bihi has refused to meet Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian (覃儉), who has been in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, since Sunday, on his third visit this year, it reported.
A delegation of high-ranking diplomatic officials from Beijing was due to arrive in Somaliland, possibly as early as today, the Web site reported.
Asked about Somaliland’s plans, as reported by the Web site, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing in Taipei that the ministry would not comment on opinions of anonymous sources.
Taiwan and Somaliland maintain effective communications, and their alliance is built on their shared values of protecting freedom, democracy and human rights, the spokeswoman said.
Taiwan’s representative office in Hargeisa is set to be formally established at the end of this month or early next month, although the plan could change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
While Somaliland is not recognized by most countries, Ou said that it has been independent since 1991.
In other diplomatic news, the ministry is preparing to reopen the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam, which had been closed in 2017 for budgetary and personnel reasons.
The office is scheduled to be opened at the end of this month or early next month, Ou said at the briefing.
Office of Parliamentarian Affairs Deputy Executive Director Paul Chen (陳盈連) is to become the office’s director, she said.
The ministry is negotiating with Washington, as Guam is a US territory, on related matters, she added.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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