The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday announced that the newly appointed Charge d'Affaires of the Holy See to Taiwan, Paul Fitzgerald Russell, will assume the post at the end of next month — a statement made in response to speculation that there had been a change in bilateral relations between Taiwan and the Vatican.
“Regarding media reports that the Vatican has not assigned a new representative to replace the outgoing charge d’affaires, we must clarify that the ministry was notified by the Vatican long ago about the appointment of its new charge d’affaires,” Anne Hung (洪慧珠), director-general of the ministry’s Department of European Affairs, said at a regular press briefing.
The new papal nuncio will replace Monsignor Ambrose Madtha.
According to a Deutsche Welle report that cited the Catholic News Agency (KNA), the Vatican’s reassignment of Madtha to the Ivory Coast without announcing his successor indicated that the Holy See was seeking warmer ties with China.
“The Vatican said that it was sorry to cause such doubt and agreed that we could announce the new charge d’affaires to Taiwan before the Holy See does,” Hung said.
Madtha will accompany Archbishop Edward Joseph Adam, the Vatican representative to the Philippines, to Tuesday’s presidential inauguration ceremony.
Delegates from 14 European countries are also expected at the event, Hung said, touting the strength of Taiwan’s relationship with EU states.
Despite a lack official ties between Taiwan and the EU, the two enjoy strong informal relations, evident in the more than 40 congratulatory messages from various Europeans nations to president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on his victory, she said.
Hung said European well wishers will include a delegatation from the UK led by Sir Nicholas Winterton, joint chairman of the parliamentary British-Taiwan Group.
The EU, however, has not so far taken an official stance on Taiwan’s WHO bid this year, Hung said.
In the past, the EU has not supported Taiwan’s attempts to gain full membership or observer status at the annual World Health Assembly but threw its weight behind increasing Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in the health body.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS