DIPLOMACY
Ambassador appointed
Paraguay has appointed a new ambassador after leaving the position vacant for more than a year, with the new envoy expected to take up the post in Taipei in the coming weeks, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday. Carlos Jose Fleitas Rodriguez was named as the South American ally’s ambassador late last month, Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Director-General Florencia Hsie (謝妙宏) said. The seasoned diplomat has close ties with Taiwan, having previously served as the minister at Paraguay’s embassy in Taiwan in 2010 and then as its charge d’affaires in June 2012. He also received a master’s degree in social sciences from Tamkang University in 2017, Hsie said. His most recent posting has been as consul in Curitiba, Brazil, where he has served since June 2018.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
Military monitoring PRC
The military yesterday said it had a clear grasp of the activities of nearby Chinese forces a day after the Japan Self-Defense Force said that China’s navy had deployed an aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific Ocean. Military spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said the military closely monitors Chinese maneuvers in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, and would take “appropriate response measures,” without elaborating. The Japan Self-Defense Force’s Joint Staff Office on Monday announced that the Liaoning aircraft carrier and seven destroyers and supply vessels had left the East China Sea and passed through waters between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako islands before entering the Pacific Ocean. Warships in the battle group included the Type 055 large destroyer Nanchang, the Type 052D destroyer Chengdu and the Type 901 comprehensive supply ship Hulunhu, among others, the forces said. Local media reported that the battle group is expected to hold exercises in waters east of Taiwan.
FOREIGN AID
Funds donated to refugees
Representative to Slovakia Lee Nan-yang (李南陽) on Monday signed an accord with non-governmental organization Ukrainian-Slovak Initiative, committing Taiwan to donate US$150,000 in aid for Ukrainian refugee children in Slovakia. The funds would be used to help set up a kindergarten for children who fled to Slovakia after Russia invaded their nation on Feb. 24. Apart from the donation, Lee, on behalf of the government, also asked the organization to transfer an additional US$60,000 to Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, which has been shelled by Russia. Ludmila Verbicka, head of the initiative, said that Taiwan’s timely assistance had given hope to Ukrainian children and women forced to leave their homes, and offered her thanks in Chinese.
POLITICS
Eric Chu to visit the US
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) is to visit the US next month to meet with US officials and experts, and discuss Taiwan-US ties, cross-strait relations and Taiwan’s defense capabilities, a KMT official said yesterday. Chu is to leave Taiwan on June 1 and make stops in Washington, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles during the 12-day trip, KMT Department of International Affairs director Alexander Huang (黃介正) said in a radio interview. He is to meet with officials from the White House, the National Security Council, and the departments of state and defense, and would also attend a plaque-unveiling ceremony to reopen the KMT’s liaison office in Washington after a hiatus of more than 13 years, said Huang, who is to head the office.
‘OBNOXIOUS MAN’: The KMT’s Chen Ching-hui moved into Chung Chia-pin’s path atop the podium and reached for him before he grabbed at her legs with both hands Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said he slipped and lost his balance, and did not know who was around him, after jumping onto the speaker’s podium at the legislature in Taipei. He apologized after a collision with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽), who moved to intercept him as he mounted the podium. There was pushing and shoving when the session started in the morning as KMT lawmakers attempted to block access to the podium to shield Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) so he could preside over the session. Video footage showed Chung step on a chair and
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight
While it is common to see bumper stickers informing other drivers about important information, such as “baby on board” or “rookie driver,” some motorist in Taiwan are using creative statements to warn other drivers to keep a safe distance to avoid a collision. A photograph recently circulating on the Internet showed a van in Changhua City with a bumper sticker saying that the driver received their license after taking the test three times, so it is dangerous to drive close to the vehicle. The person who took the photograph said all vehicles behind the van appeared to “subconsciously” maintaining a safe distance. Some