Saint Lucian Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire has arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit to enhance bilateral exchanges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Hilaire, who also serves as minister for tourism, investment, creative industries, culture and information, arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to a welcome from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺), MOFA said in a news release.
Hilaire is accompanied on the Taiwan trip by Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Emma Hippolyte and Minister for Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment Joachim Andre Henry.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Aside from meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) and attending a banquet to be hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), the Caribbean ally delegation is to also make a trip to the Ministry of Culture and visit local cultural tourism sites, MOFA said.
The Saint Lucian delegates are also set to travel to Kaohsiung for a tour of its world-renowned yacht industry, it added.
Hilaire last visited Taiwan in 2023.
Saint Lucia is one of 12 states worldwide that recognize the Republic of China instead of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Both countries first established diplomatic relations in 1984, but ties were broken in 1997 when the Caribbean country switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
In April 2007, Taiwan and Saint Lucia re-established diplomatic relations, and the PRC consequently severed its ties with the latter.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS