An association has been established to provide assistance to Taiwanese businesspeople in Kenya through the joint efforts of three government agencies.
The Taiwanese Emergency Assistance Association in Kenya was jointly established by the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland, the Overseas Community Affairs Council and the Taiwan Trade Center in Nairobi, the group told a news conference in Nairobi on Sunday.
It was set up against a backdrop of rising sentiment that is critical of China in Kenya due to Beijing’s economic practices there, such as dumping, Representative to Somaliland Allen Lou (羅震華) said, adding that the government was paying close attention to the developments.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland via CNA
The association in Nairobi is Taiwan’s third emergency-relief association in East Africa, following associations established in Uganda and Tanzania.
“This will help to establish a care network in the region, and provide a more complete information-exchange and mutual-assistance platform for Taiwanese operating there,” Lou said.
The number of Taiwanese who have established residency in East Africa remains low, but Kenya is an important trading partner in the area, and the representative office in Somaliland has often provided assistance to Taiwanese who travel to Kenya for business, he said.
“The establishment of this association means we can get help to Taiwanese in Kenya in a more timely manner,” he said.
“The representative office will inject whatever resources we can into the association to bolster its ability to provide assistance,” he said.
Association honorary chairman Tao Te-pen (陶德本) said that while few in number, Taiwanese living in Kenya could play a role in promoting Taiwan’s soft power and positive image, which the association would play a part in.
“This will help strengthen the connection between Taiwanese and Kenyans, and the association can help facilitate this through networking people and sharing resources,” he said.
Association president Chang Hao-ning (張皓寧) said the organization would maintain close contact with the representative office.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Taiwanese in Kenya in need of emergency assistance can call the association at +254-729-427-879, or the emergency contact number of the representative office in Somaliland at +252-636-292-616.
Taiwanese can also reach the ministry directly via its emergency contact center at 0800-085-095.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,