FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Passport issue linked to vote
Kiribati’s reported decision to no longer accept Taiwan’s passport might be related to its upcoming general elections, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. A Taiwanese surnamed Huang (黃), who tried to visit Kiribati in June, wrote on Facebook that an immigration official told him the Pacific island country no longer accepted Taiwan’s passport and denied his visa application. Due to the lack of official relations with Kiribati, the ministry looked into the situation through a third party, East Asia and Pacific Affairs Deputy Director-General Eric Chen (陳俊吉) said. Kiribati authorities had not made any public announcement on the decision not to accept the passport, Chen said. Kiribati severed ties with Taiwan and switched diplomatic recognition to China in 2019. The ministry has since learned that Kiribati has toughened up its screening of all inbound foreign visitors over the past few months ahead of its parliamentary elections today. It now believes the June incident when Huang was denied a visa did not only target Taiwanese, Chen said.
CROSS-STRAIT
Crew members returned
Four crew members of a fishing boat detained by China were returned to Taiwan yesterday morning after 42 days in Chinese custody, officials said. The crew members — a Taiwanese man surnamed Ting (丁) and three Indonesians — were brought to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, where they were picked up by the Da Jin Man No. 96 fishing boat, the officials said. The captain of the detained Da Jin Man No. 88 and the boat itself are still being held in China pending the completion of judicial proceedings, they said. As China is prosecuting the case as a matter of illegal fishing during a seasonal moratorium, it involves more than only a fine and has resulted in more than a month of cross-strait negotiations. The four crew members were returned at 10:30am and were scheduled to return to Penghu County today. The captain was reportedly safe, although his movements were restricted to the hotel at which he was staying, the officials said. Former legislator Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤) and others visited him at the hotel for 20 minutes in the morning before going to the wharf where the four fishers departed to make sure they boarded safely, they said.
ENVIRONMENT
Green achievements touted
Representative to Israel Abby Lee (李雅萍) presented Taiwan’s policies and achievements in green architecture to Israeli officials and non-governmental organizations (NGO) at a forum on Monday. Lee said that more than 30 architects, engineers and city planners attended the forum on sustainable development in Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut, a city in central Israel. The forum was jointly organized by NGOs including the Israel Green Building Council and the Israeli Association of Municipal Engineers. Lee spoke about Taiwan’s experience and policies relating to environmental protection, green architecture and earthquake resistance, and about its cooperation with Israel on environmental issues. Taipei and Jerusalem in 2013 signed a memorandum of understanding on environmental protection cooperation, and dialogue and exchanges between the two sides on environmental issues have been “institutionalized,” she said. In March, Taiwan announced its Pathway to Net Zero Emissions in 2050 strategy, which outlines methods and key milestones to achieve a net zero economy, according to the National Development Council.
In terms of sustainable architecture, the policy includes a milestone that “new public buildings are energy efficiency ‘class 1,’ or nearly zero emissions” by 2030, it said, adding that 100 percent of new buildings and more than 85 percent of existing buildings should be near zero emissions by 2050.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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