The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said that China was lying when Beijing claimed that Taiwan had paid social media users to post negative comments on China-Kiribati relations.
China has received widespread criticism after images emerged online, showing Chinese Ambassador to Kiribati Tang Songgen (唐松根) walking across the backs of local children in a welcoming ceremony on its Marakai Island this month.
Tang accepted to participate in the ritual out of respect for local customs, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijiang (趙立堅) told a news briefing on Thursday.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Tang is Beijing’s first ambassador to the Pacific Island nation after China and Kiribati resumed diplomatic relations in September last year.
Zhao said that social media users received “money from Taiwan for posting the pictures and comments online with ulterior motives to drive a wedge between China and Kiribati,” adding that many people in Kiribati have posted on social media in support of Tang.
“When the then-Australian high commissioner to Kiribati visited the island in 1998, local people welcomed him with the same ceremony,” Zhao said.
MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday said that Taiwan did not know of the matter or have any contact with social media users who were singled out by Beijing for “pursuing an anti-China agenda.”
China is “despicable for blatantly lying and trying to smear Taiwan,” she said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it