President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced that this year’s “Youth Overseas Dream Fund Program” is to be expanded, with more slots and a larger scale.
Lai made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting groups of last year’s “International Youth Ambassador Exchange” and the “Agricultural Youth Ambassador New Southbound Exchange” programs at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The Youth Overseas Dream Fund Program aims to help young people with ambition and expertise break through resource barriers, explore the world and broaden their horizons, Lai said.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
“Last year, more than 1,400 young people participated in the program, and this year, we will expand it in scale and number of slots,” he said, adding that the program’s growth would better address the needs of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, rural areas, indigenous communities and special families.
The expansion would provide them with greater opportunities to pursue their dreams abroad, he added.
Lai said that last year marked the first time the Agricultural Youth Ambassador New Southbound Exchange combined indigenous diplomacy and agricultural diplomacy, offering young people with indigenous heritage and a background in agriculture a chance to visit Australia — an agricultural powerhouse with a rich indigenous cultural history.
The president commended the participants for their dedication and involvement, pointing out that their efforts not only contribute expertise and engage in international diplomacy, but also help foster global friendships while showcasing Taiwan’s strong agricultural soft power and technological prowess.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS