Delegations from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and other friendly countries have arrived in the nation to attend the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) today.
From the presidential election on Jan. 13 until today, 687 foreign guests from 73 delegations have come to Taiwan to deliver congratulatory messages to the newly elected leaders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Among them, 508 guests from 51 delegations, including eight led by heads of state, are attending today’s inauguration ceremony and other related events, it added.
Photo: CNA
Pope Francis appointed the Holy See’s Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Charles John Brown to visit Taiwan from yesterday to tomorrow as a special envoy, the ministry said.
The Pope asked the Archbishop to congratulate Lai and pray for prosperity of Taiwanese, it said.
Other European countries also sent delegations to Taiwan, including 39 guests from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the European Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Some of the heavyweight guests include former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite, European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defence Vice Chair Rasa Jukneviciene, British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group Chair Lord Rogan, British Trade Envoy to Taiwan Lord Faulkner, Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio and German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Chair Klaus-Peter Willsch, it said.
Guests from North America include a delegation led by former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo; a delegation comprising former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, former assistant to the US president and director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chair Richard Bush and AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger; as well as an 11-member delegation led by Canadian lawmaker Judy Sgro, the ministry said.
Pacific Century Institute chairman and former AIT chair Raymond Burghardt, former AIT director Brent Christensen and Washington Times board of directors chairman Tom McDevitt are also in Taiwan, it added.
Former Singaporean parliament speaker Abdullah Tarmugi, South Korean National Assembly member and South Korea-Taiwan Parliamentarian Friendship Association president Cho Kyoung-tae, and Australian senators Raff Ciccone and David Fawcett also arrived in Taiwan, the ministry said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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