A glimmer of hope was brought to a 72-year-old Taiwanese ship captain serving a long prison term for murder after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it had begun negotiations with Panamanian authorities to repatriate him on humanitarian grounds.
"The Panamanian government, in principle, has agreed to repatriate captain Tuan Mu to Taiwan to serve the remainder of his prison term," Department of Central and South American Affairs Director-General Simon Ko (柯森耀) told a news briefing.
"The ministry has used diplomatic channels to negotiate with the Panamanian government in the hope that captain Tuan Mu can be sent back to Taiwan as soon as possible," Ko said.
STOWAWAYS' DEATHS
Tuan Mu Wei-kai, captain of the Panamanian-registered Taiwanese freighter Well Pescadores, was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2003 after being convicted of aggravated murder.
He was convicted of leaving several Dominican stowaways on a raft in the Caribbean Sea during a voyage from the Dominican Republic to the US, resulting in the drowning deaths of two of the stowaways.
Upon the ship's arrival in the US, the captain, first mate and several other crew members were detained by US authorities. After it was determined that the crime took place outside of US waters, they were extradited to Panama for trial.
In a letter to his family, Tuan Mu said that his crew had built the raft for the stowaways because they asked to leave the boat for fear that they would be discovered by US authorities. He said he had not known about his crew's plans.
OLDEST INMATE
Tuan Mu is the only Taiwanese serving a sentence in a Panamanian prison. He is also the oldest inmate in the country.
Panamanian law stipulates that Tuan Mu is eligible to apply for parole or to be placed under house arrest because of his age.
Diplomatic relations between Panama and the Republic of China date back to 1909.
However, the two countries have no agreement on repatriating prisoners.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by