The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is mulling a minor reshuffle of its diplomatic personnel abroad, with representative to Mexico Tsai Meng-hung (蔡孟宏) expected to be appointed as the nation's new ambassador to the Dominican Republic, a ministry official said yesterday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Tsai would succeed Chen Hsien-hsiang (陳顯祥), who is to be transferred back to the ministry in Taipei after his successor assumes office, while Chen Hsin-tung (陳新東), deputy director-general of the ministry's Department of Central and South American Affairs, would fill the vacancy left by Tsai's departure.
Addressing the issue of the nation's representative-designate to Ireland, Parris Chang (張旭成), the official said that if the Irish government continued to reject Chang's visa application, the ministry would not rule out assigning someone else in his place.
Chang -- formerly a Democratic Progressive Party representative to the US and a deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council -- was sworn in during a ceremony in Taipei on Sept. 5, but has been unable to assume his new post.
The official said that the nation's representative to Vietnam, Huang Nan-huei (黃南輝), and the representative to Norway, Kuo Ming-shan (郭明山), were also likely to be transferred in the short term.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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