A senior diplomat yesterday expressed concern over the lack of discretion exercised by the nation’s overseas consulates when drawing up their guest lists for this year’s Double Ten national day gala.
The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this year many overseas consulates made public the names of guests invited from countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Taipei. Some of these guests, including former prime ministers, wives of former prime ministers and important aides, had attended national day celebration balls before or had been long-term friends of Taiwan, the official said.
It was also customary for the consulates to make public the names of only the guests who were not afraid of upsetting China in telegraphs sent back to Taipei, the diplomat said.
The diplomat criticized the consulates’ move this year as fawning to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and loosening their vigilance because of the “diplomatic truce” policy championed by the Ma administration.
The lack of discretion demonstrated by the consulates had made it easy for China to learn of the nation’s relations with countries that do not have official ties with Taiwan, the diplomat said.
The diplomat said that so far, unlike in past years, China had not tried to prevent important figures from Taiwan’s allies from attending the Double Ten day celebration balls hosted by the overseas consulates, nor had it tried to persuade Taiwan’s foreign guests to participate in China’s celebrations instead this year.
The diplomat said that while that appeared to be promising, the nation should still be cautious about Beijing’s real intentions, as the lull could be merely a pretense.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is