The days of strictly political diplomacy and confrontational competition with China in the international arena are long gone, but Taiwan is capable of pursuing its diplomatic initiatives in other ways, such as ecological consultation, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (
"No one will say no to ecological and environmental protection these days," said Tien, who led an 11-member mission to St. Lucia from Nov. 25 to last Sunday to help develop its ecotourism and bird-watching infrastructure.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs-backed mission, comprised of bird-watchers and photographers, was aimed at helping the Caribbean ally establish its ecotourism routes and birding Web sites, as well as documenting bird species for a birding guide, Tien said.
During the trip, 46 bird species were documented, including St. Lucia's national bird, the St. Lucia parrot, and 25 were photographed.
Two photographers attached to the mission have extended their stays for another month.
"This is a brand new attempt for us to embrace the global trend of environmental diplomacy and preservation of biodiversity and develop our international diplomacy at the same time. There's no better place for such a mission than St. Lucia, which re-established official diplomatic ties with Taiwan on April 30," Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said.
It is the first time the ministry has worked with non-governmental organizations on an "eco-diplomacy program," Huang said, thanking the Taiwan Sustainable Ecology Society and the Taiwan International Birding Association for their help.
What Taiwan wanted to do for its allies was drastically different from China, he said, and focused on what the people needed.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
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
Taiwan has recorded its first fatal case of Coxsackie B5 enterovirus in 10 years after a one-year-old boy from southern Taiwan died from complications early last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) told a news conference that the child initially developed a fever and respiratory symptoms before experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. The boy was diagnosed with acute encephalitis and admitted to intensive care, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on the sixth day of illness, Lo said. This also marks Taiwan’s third enterovirus-related death this year and the first severe
RSS