The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that the expenses related to former British prime minister Liz Truss’ visit to Taiwan in May were in accordance with regulations.
Truss visited Taiwan at the invitation of the Prospect Foundation think tank from May 16 to 20, during which she met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and other senior officials. She also delivered a speech in Taipei.
According to the financial disclosures registered and published on the British Parliament’s Web site last month, Truss received ￡80,000 (US$101,398) from the foundation for the speech, and ￡10,841 from the ministry for the flights, hospitality and accommodation.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) yesterday called on the government to “spend wisely” when inviting foreign dignitaries, adding that if the benefits generated by the visit are not high enough, taxpayers’ money would be wasted.
Truss’ speech was arranged by speaker agency Chartwell Speakers, which signed a contract with the foundation regarding her speech, the ministry said in a press release yesterday.
The ministry said that for former British prime ministers and dignitaries, arranging speeches in a foreign country through a speaker agency is a common practice.
The agency would make the arrangements according to the contract it signs with the event organizer, which is in accordance with customary practices, it said.
The ministry helped coordinate Truss’ itinerary in Taiwan, it said, adding that the expenses complied with the regulations on inviting foreign guests to Taiwan, it said.
Past governments, regardless of the ruling party, have followed this principle, it added.
The ministry would not comment on the fee Truss was paid for her speech as it was not the contracting party, it said.
Asked about the expense, Chen said: “We sincerely appreciate and welcome the support for Taiwan from like-minded countries.”
Chen asked the public not to “speculate too much,” as the ministry has responded to the issue and all the expenses were made based on related regulations.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS