The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday that it has prepared contingency plans to be used in the event that foreign dignitaries attending the Oct. 10 National Day banquet are disturbed by protesters.
The anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)campaign has announced that a plan to "besiege" the Presidential Office on Double Ten Day on Oct. 10 will proceed as scheduled. As a result some lawmakers suggested canceling the celebration and the National Day dinner party because of the protest.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) yesterday said that the annual Double Ten Day dinner party will be held in the Taipei Guest House, near the Presidential Office, as in past years. Preparations are under way and would not be affected by the ongoing campaign, he added.
"Should political activity hinder foreign guests from entering the Taipei Guest House, the ministry has made preparations for such a situation," Lu said.
Director-general of the ministry's Department of Central and South American Affairs, Ko Jai-son (柯吉生), said the president of Honduras, vice president of Nicaragua and the governor of Belize will be attending the Double Ten National Day celebrations. The President of Sao Tome and Principe will also be a guest.
But Lu said the ministry is not sure if American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young, who is currently in the US for consultations, will be able to attend the celebration. If Young cannot make it, a proxy will attend the celebration in his place, which is normal diplomatic practice, Lu added.
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
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant