Two former prime ministers of Japan and Estonia are to address the annual Indo-Pacific security forum when it opens in Taipei tomorrow, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The keynote speeches are to be delivered by Taro Aso, a senior member of the Japanese Diet who served as prime minister from 2008 to 2009, and Andrus Ansip, a member of the European Parliament and former prime minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2019, the ministry said in a news release.
The one-day Ketagalan Forum, organized by think tanks along with the government, is to focus on regional and global security issues, with current and former officials, academics and experts from various countries discussing traditional and nontraditional threats and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.
This year’s forum is divided into three panels focused on the challenges in cross-strait and global security, the effects of information warfare on democracy and Taiwan’s role in the reconstruction of the international supply chain, the ministry said.
The guests are to include Japanese lawmaker Keisuke Suzuki and former US diplomat Daniel Russel, who specialized in East Asian affairs and is now vice president for international security and diplomacy at the US-based Asia Society Policy Institute.
In total, 14 lawmakers, former government officials and academics from 12 countries are to attend the forum, including Lithuanian lawmaker Vilius Semeska; Admiral Karambir Singh, former Indian Chief of Naval Staff and current chairman of the India-based think tank National Maritime Foundation; and Isaac Ben-Israel, an Israeli military scientist who founded Tel-Aviv University’s Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security.
The Ketagalan Forum: Asia Pacific Security Dialogue is being held fully in person this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started three years ago.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS