Taiwan plans to hold a regional forum on securing religious freedom next year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told the third Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief in a recorded speech on Monday.
First launched by the US Department of State in 2018, the ministerial was held in Washington in 2018 and last year, while this year’s was hosted online by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of North American Affairs Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Taiwan has been invited to the ministerial in all three years, Hsu said.
Monday’s ministerial was opened by Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the schedule on the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site showed.
Yesterday’s session for non-governmental organizations was opened by Polish Secretary of State for Legal and Treaty Affairs, the UN, Consular and Parliamentary Affairs Piotr Wawrzyk and US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback, it showed.
“While many countries have been occupied fighting COVID-19, authoritarian regimes have used the opportunity to impose their will on religious minorities,” Wu said in his speech, referring to the displacement, physical abuse and emotional torture experienced in Xinjiang by Uighurs and other Muslims.
“Here in Taiwan, religious freedom is enshrined in our Constitution and has become part of our daily life,” he said, adding that Taiwan stands with like-minded partners to defend the freedom to believe and to help victims of intolerance.
At the end of his speech, Wu announced the ministry’s plan to host a regional forum on securing religious freedom next year, saying it is “to show that we care about what is happening in other parts of the world.”
Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom Pusin Tali also attended the online ministerial, while Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) gave a speech at the International Religious Freedom Roundtable yesterday, Hsu said.
In related news, the Mainland Affairs Council on Monday announced that it has commissioned the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy to cohost with the US Heritage Foundation an online forum today titled “US-Taiwan Partnership in Challenging Times.”
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) is to deliver a speech at the forum calling for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the council said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book