Several of the nation’s embassies and representative offices have updated their Facebook pages, adding “Taiwan” to their names and profile pictures to promote the nation.
The name change was advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle changed the name of its Facebook page to “Taiwan in Seattle” and uploaded a new profile picture featuring an illustration of Taiwan proper with the word “Taiwan” on it.
Image copied from the Facebook timeline of the Taiwan Representative Office in the EU and Belgium
Representative offices that have changed their Facebook names include those in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Sao Paulo, Vancouver, Peru, Chile, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Indonesia and Naha, Japan.
The nation’s representative offices in Denver, Brussels, Geneva and Palau also changed their names and uploaded the same profile picture.
Those that have announced a name change, but have yet to do so include the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles and the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands.
Since opening a Facebook account in July last year, the ministry has encouraged embassies and representative offices to set up Facebook accounts, said Henry Chen (陳銘政), head of the Department of International Information Services.
Of the more than 100 embassies and representative offices, 54 have a Facebook page, he added.
The pages previously adopted different nomenclatures and profile pictures, which in some cases made it difficult to tell whether the offices represented Taiwan, Chen said.
As a result, the ministry last month advised them to use the same name format and profile picture, he said, adding that the name “Taiwan” is more direct and clear than “Taipei office.”
The Department of International Information Services offered the advise, but did not require the offices to adopt them, he added.
Asked whether the name change was suggested with any political intentions in mind, especially after a referendum to rename the national sports team was rejected on Nov. 24, Chen said that was not the case.
The goal was simply to ensure that the offices have a consistent image and to allow visitors to immediately know that they represent Taiwan.
The ministry decided to promote the name change on Facebook first, because it is the main social media platform used by Taiwanese embassies and representative offices, he said, adding that only some of them are on Twitter.
The Facebook pages of the nation’s embassies and representative offices have more than 100,000 followers and are viewed more than 1 million times every month, Chen said.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS