Eleven suspects were arrested after a group of armed attackers broke into Taiwan’s embassy in Haiti, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, adding that it was unclear if the suspects were also involved in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Interim Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph on Wednesday confirmed that Moise, 53, had been assassinated at his residence that morning, while his wife, Martine Moise, was wounded.
MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday that the embassy, about 2km from Moise’s residence in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, was closed “for safety reasons” after the murder.
Embassy staff have been working from home since Wednesday and the office has suspended public services, Ou said.
Early on Thursday morning, embassy security personnel discovered an armed group of people breaking through the embassy’s security perimeter and entering the courtyard, she said, adding that security immediately notified embassy staff and the Haitian police.
The embassy agreed to let police enter the embassy to conduct a search, which started at about 4pm on Thursday, with the police arresting the suspects, she said.
“As for whether the suspects were involved in the assassination of the president of Haiti, that will need to be investigated by the Haitian police,” Ou said.
Some doors and windows had been broken at the embassy, but no other property had been stolen or damaged, she said.
The ministry has asked the embassy to bolster security, Ou said.
Haiti is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies.
The government reiterated its support for Joseph in leading Haiti to overcome this crisis and restore order, Ou said, adding that Taiwan strongly condemns the “cruel and barbaric” assassination.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday said that the nation stands together with its ally in this difficult time.
Additional reporting by AFP and AP
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS