Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) cut short a 10-day trip to the US, returning to Taiwan early yesterday morning after leaving on Monday night, as Typhoon Gaemi approached the nation.
Lu said after arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 4:15am that because the path of the storm was moving south and Taichung was likely to be affected, she decided to cancel her trip and fly back to Taiwan from Seattle.
Lu said she was returning to Taichung to help the city prepare for the storm’s possible impact.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
While Lu decided to return, the Taichung City Government delegation continued its 10-day US trip, led by Taichung Deputy Mayor Huang Kuo-jung (黃國榮).
Before departing for the US, Lu said her trip aims to strengthen ties, especially as Taichung has relationships with 16 sister cities and two friendship cities in the US, the most it has with any country.
Aside from to boosting ties and exchanges with those cities, the delegation was set to visit high-tech companies and connect with Taichung businesspeople working in the US.
It was also to meet overseas compatriots in San Francisco and Greater Los Angeles.
In other news, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced that a meeting between Taiwanese and Chinese officials in Kinmen County yesterday morning to discuss the Kinmen speedboat incident was postponed due to Gaemi.
The incident on Feb. 14 left two Chinese nationals dead.
However, due to the approach of Gaemi, the cross-strait ferry services that are part of the “small three links” had been suspended, preventing the family members of the two deceased Chinese sailors and the delegation of Chinese officials from reaching Kinmen, the council said in a statement.
A new date for the meeting is to be decided later by both sides, the statement read.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS