DIPLOMACY
Israel, Taiwan ink social pact
Taiwan and Israel have signed a joint declaration to bolster bilateral cooperation in the areas of social welfare and social services, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. It was signed on Wednesday via videoconference by representative to Israel Lee Ya-ping (李雅萍) in Tel Aviv, and Israel’s representative to Taiwan, Omer Caspi, in Taipei. The signing ceremony was presided over by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui (俞大?) and Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) in Taipei, along with Israeli Welfare and Social Affairs Director-General Sigal Moran in Tel Aviv, it said. The declaration marks the 30th cooperation pact between Taiwan and Israel, and the fifth since 2020, the ministry said.
PHILIPPINES
Marcos congratulated on win
Taiwan yesterday sent a goodwill message to Ferdinand Marcos Jr on his victory in the Philippine presidential election, while expressing its desire to bolster ties with his country. “Congratulations to the Filipino people on the successful national elections on May 9,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. She also congratulated president-elect Marcos on his victory, adding that Taiwan is looking forward to working with the new administration to improve cooperation. The Philippines is an important partner in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, and the countries have maintained productive exchanges over the years, Ou said. More than 150,000 Filipinos live in Taiwan, most of them migrant workers or immigrants married to Taiwanese, she said.
GOVERNMENT
Control Yuan VP nominated
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday nominated People First Party (PFP) Secretary-General Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) to serve as vice president of the Control Yuan. Lee’s nomination has been sent to the Legislative Yuan for review and approval, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said. Lee, 62, served five consecutive terms as a legislator, from 2002 to 2020. The Control Yuan is responsible for investigating and handling disciplinary matters regarding public servants and agencies. Lee yesterday said he was resigning as PFP secretary-general, and would quit the party and withdraw from all political activities. The post of Control Yuan vice president has been vacant since 2020, when Tsai’s nomination of Justin Huang (黃健庭), a former Taitung County commissioner from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), failed after criticism from the DPP and KMT.
JUSTICE
Dai facing 24-year term
Prosecutors on Wednesday asked for a 24-year prison sentence for independent Chiayi City Councilor Dai Ning (戴寧) over charges that she allegedly embezzled NT$5.18 million (US$173,691) from staff expenses. The Taiwan Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said that Dai had for more than a decade personally collected government-paid salaries of four people listed as staff, but who did not work for her. Dai had access to bank accounts belonging to the four assumed staff members, and withdrew salaries and bonuses paid between June 2012 and February, prosecutors said. Dai has denied knowing anything about the scheme, saying only that her father, himself a former councilor who died not long after Dai was arrested, had been responsible for hiring her staff. Prosecutors sought the severe term given what they called a “lack of remorse” and trying to pass responsibility to her father.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit