The unpolluted, turquoise ocean surrounding the Marshall Islands will be what Li Shr-jie (黎世傑), who joined the alternative diplomatic-service program two years ago, misses most when he is due to leave the Pacific island nation in the middle of March.
Li, a graduate from National Taiwan University's Department of Horticulture, chose to enroll the program, a substitute for compulsory military service, because he wanted to go to Latin American countries.
When Li was informed he would be dispatched to the Marshall Islands, one of Taiwan's five allies in the Pacific, his parents were worried he could not cope with life in such a remote country.
PHOTO: MELODY CHEN, TAIPEI TIMES
"When I first came here, I had fever several times. I felt particularly lonely and bored at night," said the 26-year-old serviceman.
The alternative diplomatic-service program had proved daunting to some who signed up for it.
"When the countries we were to be sent were announced, six of the 41 boys volunteering to join it withdrew," Li said.
The government's International Cooperation and Development Fund, which coordinates the program, usually deploys servicemen to Taiwan's 27 diplomatic allies to assist local workers.
Since Li arrived on the Marshall Islands in November 2002, he has been working with Taiwan's Technical Mission in the country.
Li's daily routine includes supervising workers in the field in the mission's compound, where a five-person agricultural team, including Li, grows various kinds of fruits and vegetables and raises pigs.
Li also helps with the mission's paperwork. In his leisure time, he often goes fishing, plays basketball and visits downtown Majuro, the Marshall Islands' capital.
"I also keep two dogs," he said.
Having picked up some simple words in the local tongue, Li said he would miss his friends in the Marshall Islands when his term finishes in March.
"They love to make friends," Li said of local residents.
The technical mission arrived in August 1999 after Taiwan established diplomatic ties with the Marshall Islands in November 1998.
The Marshall Islands government allotted about three hectares of land for the technical mission.
The mission has developed roughly one hectare to grow crops and build pigsties, according to the leader of the mission, Cheng Ming-ching (鄭明欽).
An agricultural expert from Hualien, Cheng had never joined a foreign mission before going to the Marshall Islands.
"Though the soil and climate in this country are different from that of Taiwan, I don't find it difficult to get used to life here," said Cheng, whose family has moved with him to the Marshall Islands.
People in the Marshall Islands had virtually no agricultural development before the arrival of Taiwan's technical mission.
"This country has very few natural resources and government budgets for agriculture are limited," Cheng said.
Through the mission's help, 50 households in the country have turned to farming and found the results satisfying, according to Cheng.
"Local farmers find their lives improved. They get the money to furnish their houses and are able to purchase refrigerators and television sets," Cheng said.
The mission developed agriculture on the Marshall Islands from nothing, Cheng said.
The situation of starting from scratch is now faced by Michael Lu (呂瑞源), leader of Taiwan's Technical Mission to Kiribati, Taiwan's newest ally.
Lu, who followed Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien's (簡又新) delegation to Kiribati earlier this month, will be starting agricultural work in a compound that used be home to a satellite station of China's.
Many cooperation programs between Kiribati and Taiwan have begun, Samuel Chen (陳世良), Taiwan's ambassador to Kiribati, said during Chien's visit there.
A local media agency, the Broadcasting and Publications Authority, which ran a story on the opening of Taiwan's embassy in Kiribati, is seeking assistance to improve its printing technology.
The agency consists of a publication manager, an editor, an assistant editor, two reporters, two printers and one typist.
The main function of the agency is to "produce a weekly bilingual newspaper aiming at informing local readers about a variety of events and issues that occur within the community, the government, the Pacific region and the world," said Tibewere Bobo, the publication manager.
The agency produces a weekly called Te Uekera meaning "The Tree of Knowledge."
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we