DIPLOMACY
US delegation arrives
A US congressional delegation is visiting Taiwan for five days to meet with President William Lai (賴清德) and other senior officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. US Representative Marilyn Strickland leads the delegation that also includes her Democratic Party colleagues Julia Brownley, Jill Tokuda and Jasmine Crockett, the ministry said in a news release. During their visit from yesterday through Thursday, the congresswomen would also be invited to a banquet hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) “to exchange views on important issues on Taiwan-US relations, cross-strait and regional peace and security,” the ministry said. Since the delegation is comprised entirely of female lawmakers, the ministry said it “also looks forward to engaging in talks on women’s participation in political and public life.” Aside from Tokuda, all the other members of the delegation are making their first visit to Taiwan, it said.
MILITARY
AI used in communication
The army yesterday released video clips of artificial intelligence (AI) news anchors’ multilingual coverage of two rounds of live-fire artillery exercises held in the country this week as part of its effort to enhance communication with the international community. The two 90-second-long videos featured AI news anchors speaking in English, Chinese and Japanese about two rounds of artillery firing drills conducted in Hsinchu County’s Kengzikou (坑子口) shooting range and Taichung’s Jianan Beach (甲南海灘) on Wednesday and Thursday last week, the Ministry of National Defense said in a news release. The two drills featured M109A2 and M110A2 howitzers, the ministry said. They were staged only two weeks after the conclusion of the military’s annual Han Kuang military exercises. The ministry has said that troops need to continuously enhance their combat readiness. The application of AI technology to covering the nation’s military drills in three widely used languages “is aimed at enhancing communication with the international community by sharing information relating to Taiwan’s national defense situation,” it said.
CRIME
Drug shipment prevented
Thai law enforcement authorities have stopped about 11.8kg of heroin, discovered in a shipment of meat grinders and meatball makers, that was to enter Taiwan, at a dock in Bangkok, the Thai authorities said on Saturday. The drugs, worth NT$32.67 million (US$1 million) were found in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei District on Wednesday, Thai Department of Customs Director-General Theeraj Athanavanich told a news conference. The Thai Seaport Interdiction Task Force, which included agents from the Department of Customs and Armed Forces Security Center of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, found 32 blocks of heroin hidden in the motors of a meat grinder and three meatball makers, Athanavanich said. The drugs were found when Thai customs personnel identified a suspicious shipment to Taiwan as they were intercepting exports potentially at risk of drug smuggling, he said. The seized drugs have been handed over to the the Thai Ministry of Justice’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board and the Royal Thai Police’s Narcotics Suppression Bureau for further investigation, and it was later discovered that the drugs came from a drug trafficking ring in Thailand’s Phetchabun Province, he said. The Taiwanese Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau is also pursuing accomplices in Taiwan.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS