FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Wu to attend Esper talks
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) is to hold an online meeting with former US secretary of defense Mark Esper on Wednesday next week to discuss the growing threat China poses in the Indo-Pacific region, the McCain Institute for International Leadership has said. The meeting, scheduled at midnight, would be the sixth of a series of public talks between Esper and a policy expert on issues related to US national security, said the Washington-based think tank, which is organizing the event. A main focus of the series is Indo-Pacific security partnerships and challenges such as increasing international authoritarianism and the spread of disinformation. Esper served as secretary of defense under former US president Donald Trump from July 2019 to November 2020. He is a distinguished fellow at the McCain institute.
EDUCATION
Additional students can enter
Taiwan is on March 1 to begin allowing the entry of international language students who do not receive Huayu Enrichment Scholarships, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said on Tuesday, adding that about 5,000 students without scholarships are expected to arrive by June 30. Schools that offer Chinese-language courses of six months or longer can submit entry permit applications for their prospective students, he said. The start date was chosen to avoid the Lunar New Year holiday to ensure enough quarantine hotel capacity, Pan said. International language students without an Alien Residency Certificate (ARC) have not been allowed to enter Taiwan since it imposed restrictions on foreign travelers in March 2020, amid the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwan in August last year began to grant entry to international students who are granted ministry scholarships, but do not have an ARC. Separately, the ministry on Monday said that about 1,000 foreign teachers hired by schools for the ongoing school year ending June 30 can apply for a special visa to enter the nation. Students and teachers would have to quarantine for 14 days upon entering Taiwan, observe another seven days of self-health management and frequently get tested for COVID-19 during the 21-day period, the ministry said.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Taiwanese to stay in Ukraine
Twenty-eight Taiwanese have chosen to remain in Ukraine despite the government urging them to leave, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that 34 Taiwanese residents of Ukraine have since Saturday been contacted. Six have left the country amid Western governments warning of an imminent Russian invasion, while nine have relocated to the western city of Lviv, close to the border with Poland, Ou said. Although the government respects the decision of those who wish to stay, the ministry, through its representative office in Moscow, is providing them with the latest updates, Ou said. Taiwan is among 31 countries that asked their citizens to leave Ukraine, the ministry said. In the event of an emergency, Taiwanese in Ukraine can call +7-969-008-6111 to seek assistance from the Moscow office, it said. They can also contact the Taiwan Trade Center in Kiev, which is run by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, at +380-44-537-0982, it added.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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