The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the nation’s allies for their unwavering support for Taiwan’s UN bid after St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, St. Lucia and the Solomon Islands spoke in favor of Taiwan’s participation in the global body.
“We welcome such support and we appreciate our allies for their actions,” ministry Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said.
“We kept telling the press and the public to wait and see how our allies would help us out and this is a good example of it,” Chen said.
However, Chen did not comment on why Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has hinted in the past he may be interested in switching allegiance to Beijing, did not throw his weight behind the bid.
This year marked Taiwan’s 16th failed attempt to be admitted into the UN after it forfeited its seat in 1971 when the UN General Assembly agreed to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China.
Instead of bidding for full membership, Taiwan only requested “meaningful participation” in the activities of the agencies under the UN umbrella.
The bid was rejected when the UN General Committee on Tuesday refused to list the resolution on the assembly agenda.
Central News Agency reported that St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves commended Taiwan as a responsible stakeholder in the international community and for its push to ameliorate cross-strait relations with Beijing.
If Taiwan can be an active member of the WTO, he argued, there is no reason why Taiwan should be excluded from the WHO and other UN agencies.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Derek Sikua and Tuvaluan Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia Apisai urged UN member states to reward Taiwan’s efforts in assuaging cross-strait tensions by giving Taiwan the appropriate and much needed international space it needed and accept it in UN agencies.
St. Lucia Prime Minister Stephenson King said that although Taiwan does not have a seat in the global organization, it has never failed to contribute in the efforts to tackle global challenges such as diseases, disaster and food shortage.
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
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