Taiwan’s allies in the Pacific responded positively to an invitation to attend president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration next month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Taiwan has invited representatives of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau to attend the May 20 inauguration of Lai and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director Peter Lan (藍夏禮) said.
The allies have all “responded positively” to the invitation, Lan said, adding that the guest list and other details would be announced once they have been finalized.
Photo: Yang Yao-ju, Taipei Times
The ministry previously confirmed the attendance of Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) invited him in person during a trip to the island nation last month.
In other international developments, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday morning reported that North Korea had launched a medium-range ballistic missile into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, at around 6:53am yesterday.
It was the third time North Korea has launched ballistic missiles this year, following a launch on March 18.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it “strongly condemns” the action, adding that North Korea has been repeatedly undermining regional peace and stability.
Taiwan remains concerned about Pyongyang’s provocative actions and would continue to cooperate with like-minded countries on security issues, Lan said.
After North Korea passed legislation in September 2022 authorizing the military to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes to protect itself, the frequency of its short, medium and long-range missile launches has increased significantly, he said.
The behavior seriously threatens regional peace and stability, not only in the Korean Peninsula, but also in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
Taiwan continues to advocate for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and calls for peaceful and rational communication and coordination in the region, he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to