President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) could meet US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton tomorrow when the two attend the inauguration of El Salvadoran president-elect Mauricio Funes.
Ambassador to El Salvador Carlos Liao (廖世傑) said Ma would be seated on the stage next to outgoing Panamanian President Martin Torrijos and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, while Clinton was due to sit off the stage with other dignitaries.
There is a big chance that the two would meet “accidentally,” he said.
PHOTO: CNA
Despite Funes’ public advocacy of forging closer ties with Beijing during his election campaign, Liao said China had not arranged to send a delegation to the inauguration before registration closed on Monday.
Liao was tight-tipped about Ma’s bilateral talks with other leaders, saying arrangements were still being made.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Hou (侯清山) said prior to Ma’s trip that the ministry was arranging bilateral meetings between Ma and leaders and representatives attending the inauguration. Ortega and Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya had agreed to attend the talks, Hou said.
Ma is leading a 159-member delegation to attend Funes’ inauguration, bringing first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青), local government heads, student representatives, college principals and a performance group.
He made a one-night stopover in Los Angeles on his way to El Salvador and will stop in Seattle on his way back. Ma, who left Belize for Guatemala on Thursday, had talks with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, who welcomed Ma with a 21-gun salute and a military honor guard.
The two issued a joint statement after exchanging views on bilateral and multi-lateral relations as well as the international situation.
Ma and Colom expressed satisfaction over Taiwan and Guatemala’s long-standing friendship and close cooperation, pledging to strengthen joint efforts in politics, foreign affairs, trade, technology and culture. They also recognized the progress of a cooperation project for highway expansion.
Ma, who gave Colom a Taiwanese bicycle as a gift, instructed the embassy to give Colom’s wife another one after the Guatemalan president mentioned that he and his wife have recently developed a new passion for cycling.
Previously in Belize, Ma and Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow held talks and reached a consensus on strengthening cooperation in fishing and agriculture.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊), who accompanied Ma on the trip, said detailed projects would be proposed after each side’s government officials, experts and academics conclude their visits.
“We want to teach them how to fish, and not just give them fish,” he said.
Ou said learning from previous experience, the ministry would no longer distribute foreign aid as lump sums but instead distribute it in accordance with the progress of cooperation projects.
Ma and his delegation are scheduled to leave for El Salvador today.
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)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
RSS