International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) president Chris Field on Monday was awarded the First Grade Control Yuan Medal at a ceremony at the Control Yuan in Taipei.
Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), who presented the medal, said it was to honor Field for his long-term commitment and contributions toward Australia's domestic and international supervisory affairs.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan and the Ombudsman Western Australia (OWA) are both Australasia and Pacific members of the IOI, and as such are both committed to promoting good governance and the protection of human rights in the region, Chu said.
Field, who became head of the OWA in 2007, entered his fourth term in the role last year, and was awarded the Australian Public Service Medal in February this year.
In his speech after receiving the medal, Field discussed the OWA’s evolution, and its current role in supporting the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Haitian ombudsman in its fight against criminal violence, and its assistance to refugees, and in funding Pakistan’s watchdog in combating malnutrition, among other efforts.
Field is to visit the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park, as well as Hakka and indigenous communities to learn about the development of human-rights protections in Taiwan, and to explore possibilities for deepened exchanges with Australia, he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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