In response to Marshall Islands President Kessai Note's warm reception, President Chen Shui-bian (
The two presidents arrived at the harbor around 8am yesterday and co-hosted a naval presidential salute onboard the Kun Ming. It was the first time a president has hosted such a ceremony at a foreign harbor with a foreign president.
The Dyi Huah and Kun Ming began their journey on April 19 and arrived in Majuro on April 30, ahead of the celebration of the Marshall Islands' 26th Constitution Day with Chen and his delegation on May 1.
PHOTO: CNA
People First Party Legislator Lin Yu-fang (
"We do international cruises like this every year. For the Marshall Islands assignment, the two frigates carried a total of 313 sailors and we carried out regular exercises during our trip," said Captain Sun Chang-teh (
The state-of-the-art French-made frigates left Majuro and returned to Taiwan immediately after the two presidents finished their breakfast.
In the afternoon, Note invited Chen to hop in a famous Marshallese catamaran for a try at riding the waves along the island's shore.
"I have been doing this [maneuvering a catamaran] for years. Your president will be perfectly safe with me," Note said. "It is my pleasure to show President Chen how to do this."
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (
"Taiwan go go go! Marshall Islands go go go!" President Chen yelled when he got off the catamaran, although he was totally soaked.
Note also presented Chen a catamaran as a gift. The catamaran will stay in Marshall Islands until the Taiwanese navy brings it home when their ships visit Majuro again in the near future.
In the meantime, due to light security at the Marshall Islands airport, China Airlines, which is in charge of Chen's charter flight, assigned its own staff to guard the aircraft 24 hours a day.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS