The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday expressed the nation’s condolences to the family of Hugues Mignot, a naturalized Taiwanese citizen who was a former director of the Belgium Office Taipei before serving as the first director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Taiwan.
Mignot passed away in Taipei on Thursday at the age of 80, the ministry said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) reached out to Mignot’s widow to express the nation’s condolences, and let his family know that his contributions to diplomacy are highly respected, it said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Mignot, who was fluent in Chinese, served as Belgium’s top representative to Taiwan from 1986 to 2006, it added.
Mignot built solid friendships, and was instrumental in Taiwan developing relationships with Belgium and the EU. In 1987, he was the first to propose setting up a European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan.
In 2002, he lobbied for a European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei, which was opened in March 2003. In October 2004, his efforts led to the signing of the Taiwan-Belgium Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
In 2006, Mignot retired, married a Taiwanese woman and was conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
In 2009, Luxembourg opened a trade and investment office in Taiwan, and Mignot left retirement to head it, stepping down in 2016.
In December 2019, he became a naturalized Taiwanese citizen.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
Starting next month, people who signed up for the TPass 2.0 program can receive a 15 percent rebate for trips on mid to long-distance freeway buses or on buses headed to the east coast twice every month, the Highway Bureau said. Bureau Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said the government started TPass 2.0 to offer rebates to frequent riders of public transportation, or people who use city buses, highway buses, trains or MRTs at least 11 times per month. As of Nov. 12, 265,000 people have registered for TPass 2.0, and about 16.56 million trips between February and September qualified for
The year 2027 is regarded as the year China would likely gain the capability to invade Taiwan, not the year it would launch an invasion, Taiwanese defense experts said yesterday. The experts made the remarks after President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference on Wednesday that his administration would introduce a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.8 billion) special defense budget bill to boost Taiwan’s overall defense posture over the next eight years. Lai said that Beijing aims for military unification of Taiwan by 2027. The Presidential Office later clarified that what Lai meant was that China’s goal is to “prepare for military unification
HOW RUDE: Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific defense chief condemned China’s response to Takaichi’s remarks as inappropriate and heavy-handed, while praising Japan’s nerve A former US defense official under former US president Joe Biden has voiced support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for her remarks suggesting that Japan could help defend Taiwan, while describing Beijing’s response as “inappropriate.” Ely Ratner, who served as assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs from 2021 to this year, said in a CNA interview that Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan simply reflected Japan’s position and stance on Taiwan. On Nov. 7, the Japanese prime minister commented in a parliamentary session that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival” that could trigger a military
RSS