One of South Korea’s most powerful business organizations yesterday donated a batch of 5,000 COVID-19 rapid test kits to Taiwan to help the country combat a serious COVID-19 outbreak.
The Federation of Korean Industries, which represents several hundred companies in Seoul, made the donation via the Korean Mission in Taipei to the Taipei-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association during a ceremony in Taipei.
Speaking at the event, the head of the Korean Mission in Taipei, which represents South Korean interests in Taiwan in the absence of the official diplomatic ties, said that although the donation was small, it was symbolic of the strong and close bilateral ties between the two sides.
Photo: Liao Cheng-hui, Taipei Times
“We want to help our neighbor,” South Korean Representative to Taiwan Chung Byung-won said via an interpreter.
Taiwan and South Korea are each other’s fifth-largest trading partners, Chung added.
Last year, bilateral trade totaled US$50.76 billion, up 41.98 percent over the previous year, association data showed.
The number of bilateral visits also exceeded 2.5 million in 2019, prior to the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020.
Chung said he hoped that the donated test kits would be put to good use, adding that he looked forward to Taiwan and South Korea resuming normal trade and in-person interaction in the latter half of this year.
Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢), chairman of the association’s ROC-Korea Business Council, who received the batch of rapid test kits on behalf of Taiwan, expressed the nation’s gratitude for the donation.
It marks the third time the federation has made a donation to Taiwan during a time of need, Chuang said.
The federation donated US$200,000 for the 921 Earthquake in 1999 and US$300,000 for Typhoon Morakot in 2009, he said.
“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” Chuang said, while thanking South Korea for the timely donation as Taiwan is in the midst of a serious domestic COVID-19 outbreak.
The donated test kits are to be given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is to decide how they would be allocated, the association said.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS